Hi and welcome to the ELT digest. In this monthly email we take a look back at what happened in the last month and what’s coming up in the near future.
Looking Back
Queer Issues in Language Education
This month the TEFLology Podcast was joined by Ashley R. Moore to discuss queer issues in language education. This is an under discussed issue we’re always interested in hearing more about. The podcast discusses why there is a lack of queer inclusion in ELT textbooks, how attempts at queer inclusion can go wrong, interrogating existing texts and the experiences of queer language learners.
Students’ Thoughts on Webcams in Online Teaching
One of the big topics in our Talking Shop sessions has been how to teach online. We enjoyed this article by Bali Maha where she shares some perspectives from her students about using webcams. It is a testament to the value of simply asking your students about this stuff sometimes.
Tips for Teaching with Presentations
We thoroughly enjoyed having Tim Thompson to deliver a workshop about using presentations in class. The session was extremely informative and we had a nice turnout and some great questions. In addition to giving positive feedback, a few people asked afterwards about where to pick up Tim’s book. You can find it on our website for a very reasonable £4.
The ‘What’s going on with you these days, ________?’ series has been going from strength to strength. This month, we were joined by Gizem Asya who spoke to us about the importance of finding a mentor, why you shouldn’t be afraid of silence, myths about teaching and spending too much money on professional development. Check it out here:
Looking forward
Great Minds in Language Education
If you’ve been following the ELT Digest for a while, you’ll know that we’re big fans of iTDi who offer some great courses and professional development opportunities. They just announced a series of courses about great minds in language education. There’s a session on the 11th where they’ll be sharing more information about these courses. Both the session and the courses look wonderful and we hope you’ll check them out.
Upcoming ‘Shop Events
We won’t be having a workshop this month, however we will be back with another ‘What’s going on with you these days?’ session on the 28th of April. We’ll be announcing more details soon. If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list below for an invite.
Content Consumer Corner
Drive to Survive
Tim used to be a big F1 fan about ten years ago. However he’s not bothered watching regularly for a while. That looks set to change this year. Not only does it look like it’s going to be a much more competitive season this year, but the behind the scenes documentary Drive To Survive had him hooked. You can find the documentary on Netflix and this article is a good read about the documentary. It does a much better job than Tim could explaining why it’s so fun.
99 Records
This article explores the back catalogue of 99 Records, a culturally influential but not particularly financially successful record label from the 80’s. Tim had a really good time listening to these tracks because a lot of them clearly had an impact on some of his favourite bands (especially LCD Soundsystem). It’s worth a look for the music and also for the great art.