Active learning methodologies - mini-event

About the event

This event featured three webinars with ELT teachers and experts from around the world. All three webinars helped 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. 

The rescheduled event took place on November 17, 2023. 

About the webinars

Session 1: Big ideas for little minds! STEAM in the YL EFL class

Speaker: 

Eugenia Dell'Osa (Argentina)

Session information: 

STEAM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Maths. It’s an interdisciplinary integrated approach to learning that encourages students to think more broadly about real-world problems. This workshop gives practical STEAM ideas to English teachers in kindergarten and lower primary. I start by taking a look at the benefits of STEAM and provide teachers with hands-on activities to put into practice in online and face-to-face classes. Finally, we analyse whether to choose to include STEAM activities in your lesson plans or choose STEAM as a whole project in your everyday teaching!

Click here to do a pre-webinar task

Session 2: Piloting PBL in the primary classroom

Speaker: 

Ahisha Haneef (Sri Lanka)

Session information:

This presentation based on my first-hand experience of a classroom project using the principles of Project Based Learning with primary learners aged 10-11. The project was tied to the topic of music, and it challenged learners to take on the role of sound engineers to address a real-world problem – sound pollution. They had to design a pair of soundproof ear mufflers and advertise the product by creating a TV commercial. In this session, I share a breakdown of the planning stages, assessments, and examples of successful projects.

Click here to do a short pre-webinar task

Session 3: Teaching your students to learn and unlearn

Speaker: 

Manal Sabbah (Saudi Arabia/Canada)

Session information:

This workshop starts with a summary of experiential learning theories and why teachers can benefit from those theories. The next stage of the workshop looks at where and how those theories can be used in the English Language classroom. Finally, we examine a scenario to put the use of those theories into practice with the help of the attendees. This workshop will give you practical ideas to help you use experiential learning theories to teach English in your classroom.

Click here to download some pre-webinar reading

About the speakers

Eugenia Dell’Osa is an EFL teacher and teacher trainer specialised in Early Years, Drama and Special Education. She designs teacher development courses and presents them locally and internationally. She coordinates groups of teachers in different educational contexts and leads the Diploma in Teaching EFL to YL at Universidad de Morón. She is passionate about teaching in innovative ways.

Ahisha Haneef is a Cambridge CELTA and TYLEC certified teacher working in the British Council Colombo who is currently completing her DELTA. She has taught learners from various backgrounds, nationalities and all age groups since 2017. She also trains students for Cambridge IGCSE examinations. She loves engaging students in interactive and useful lessons for their everyday lives, hence approaches like PBL have always resonated with her teaching heart.

Manal Sabbah has a doctorate in TESOL from the University of Exeter. She is currently the CEO of Xceedia, a language learning company. She has over two decades of experience in teaching English in higher education institutions internationally. She has published research on experiential learning theories assessment and vocabulary acquisition.