Tour around the ELT conference circuit as our team shares conference highlights and session reviews.

Conferences

Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<p><em>On September 17 &ndash;18, 2021, we will be hosting a <a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2021" target="_blank">free two-day virtual conference</a> to explore current teaching trends and the future of education technology. At this conference, you&rsquo;ll connect with organizations and teachers, share your experiences and expertise, and help shape the future of English language education. This article is part of a series of posts introducing some of the conference speakers.</em></p>

<p>Meet Fely Garc&iacute;a L&oacute;pez, an Educator Innovation Lead at <a href="https://info.flipgrid.com/" target="_blank">Flipgrid</a>. Fely will be joining us on September 17 to talk more about Flipgrid and the four language domains.</p>

<p>Fely has always wanted to be a teacher. She grew up in Mexico and learned some English in high school. After her high school graduation, she moved to the United States with her parents.</p>

<p>&ldquo;I went straight to the university to ask what I needed to be a teacher in this country. I was met with countless obstacles. I was told&mdash;by an English teacher&mdash;that I was never going to make it in college, much less be a teacher. I struggled with the language and with the culture. Because of that, I decided to help others who were &ldquo;labeled&rdquo; as limited English proficient and empower them to overcome their obstacles. I was going to be the voice of the oppressed, the voice of those who couldn&rsquo;t speak&mdash;yet.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Before her current role, Fely taught ELAR and ESL for 15 years. For her first teaching job, she was a 6th grade ELA teacher.</p>

<p>&ldquo;More than half of my students were English learners, some recent immigrants. I was supposed to be teaching reading comprehension and inference skills, but the curriculum wasn&rsquo;t tailored to my students&rsquo; needs; my students couldn&rsquo;t connect to the literature. So, I did what any other teacher does: improvise, adapt, and overcome. I began to find local stories and texts that appealed to my students, and still targeted the state&rsquo;s student expectations. I found literature and photographs with characters and people that my students could connect with and had great success. I taught 6th grade for a couple of more years and then I went to teach 8th grade language arts,&nbsp;reading, and ESL to recent immigrants. I found ways to connect with my students and found ways for my students to connect to texts using real life experiences. I was always my students&rsquo; loudest cheerleader and biggest supporter.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Fely gets excited about technology integration in bilingual education, English as a second language, and dual language classrooms.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&ldquo;I feel that technology, when made part of daily learning practices, can knock down many barriers and obstacles as it helps lower the affective filter. I am excited about being bilingual and about promoting bilingualism! I am a fan of Spanglish, for I feel it&rsquo;s part of my identity as a Mexico-Americana! Being bilingual vale por dos!&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Fely is also incredibly passionate about equity and inclusion.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Sadly, there are many students who do not have access to the resources to help pave their way into higher education. There is not only a learning gap between the different socio-economic groups, but also an opportunity gap. For this reason, I feel that it is imperative that we find means and resources to level the playing field for all students, regardless of skin colour, culture, ethnic background, or social status.&rdquo;</p>

<p>In 2015 and 2017, Fely went to a few different conferences. At all of these conferences, Fely saw a pattern.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Educators would highlight amazing things that their students would do with all the technology they had. In all these fantastic presentations, there was not a single student of colour, not a single student who looked like or talked like the ones that sat in my classroom. My students could do the same things and create similar projects with similar impacts, but with much less resources. Since then, I&rsquo;ve worked to highlight my students, their creativity, their veracity, and most importantly, their resilience as they fight battles that many can only dream of&mdash;well actually, nightmares! If my students can accomplish great things with limited resources, imagine their impact on the world if we provide them with the same opportunities!&rdquo;</p>

<p>Fely also believes in &ldquo;relationships before curriculum.&rdquo;</p>

<p>&ldquo;I always made it a point to learn about my students before they learned the content. Every child has a story to tell and to me it was, and still is, very important to listen to those stories. Students do academically and socially better when they know that their teacher cares about them and values them. That&rsquo;s why I always spent time at the beginning of the school year building relationships before language acquisition started.&rdquo;</p>

<p>To hear Fely speak, be sure to <a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2021" target="_blank">register for our virtual conference</a>.</p>

<p>To learn more about Fely, you can connect with her on Twitter at @FelyTeachnology and on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/349304680156539" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Meet the ESL Library Virtual Conference Speakers: Fely García López

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<p><em>On September 17&ndash;18, 2021, we will be hosting a <a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2021" target="_blank">free two-day virtual conference</a> to explore current teaching trends and the future of education technology. At this conference, you&rsquo;ll connect with organizations and teachers, share your experiences and expertise, and help shape the future of English language education. This article is part of a series of posts introducing some of the conference speakers.</em></p>

<p>Meet Dr. Katie Welch, an Educational Consultant for Welch Education. In this role, she provides professional development to language educators through partnerships with institutions like the US Department of State and Cambridge University Press.</p>

<p>Katie originally enrolled in a master&rsquo;s program in counselling, but after teaching ESL in Chile and providing ESL support to newcomers, she decided to pursue a Ph.D. in linguistics instead. Second language acquisition was the focus of her dissertation.</p>

<p>These days, Katie is interested in and passionate about multilingualism.</p>

<p>&ldquo;There is a significant shift happening in the field in how students&rsquo; home languages are viewed and used in the English language classroom. Significant theoretical conversations about translanguaging are beginning to trickle down into English classrooms, and we are seeing teachers more fully embrace students&#39;&nbsp;full linguistic repertoires.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Katie also gets excited about differentiation, technology in language teaching, and social-emotional learning.</p>

<p>&ldquo;I tend to be a very reflective practitioner and am constantly thinking about how to be a better teacher to my students. I particularly enjoy making theory-practice connections so that teachers can feel confident that their instruction is grounded in solid research.&rdquo;</p>

<p><img alt="A woman speaking in front of a powerpoint presentation" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1719/content_Melissa_Meet-Our-Speakers_Katie.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Here, Katie is pictured presenting at a TexTESOL conference.</p>

<p>On September 18, Katie will be joining us to discuss how to incorporate social-emotional learning into adult ESL classrooms.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Social-emotional learning, or SEL, seeks to engage learners as whole beings with not just academic needs but with social and emotional needs as well. This is a topic that is especially timely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as teachers have grappled with how to meaningfully connect with learners in online and/or socially distanced environments. In the session, we will identify three signature SEL practices that can be used in classrooms with adult learners. While practices can be used with any curriculum, I will specifically highlight some ESL Library tools and lessons that utilize a social-emotional framework.&rdquo;</p>

<p><strong>To hear Katie speak, be sure to <a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">register for our virtual conference</a>.</strong></p>

<p>To learn more about Katie, you can visit her website at <a href="http://www.welcheducation.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.welcheducation.com</a>. You can also connect with her on Twitter at @drkatiewelch.</p>


Meet the ESL Library Virtual Conference Speakers: Dr. Katie Welch

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<p><em>On September 17&ndash;18, 2021, we will be hosting a <a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2021" target="_blank">free two-day virtual conference</a> to explore current teaching trends and the future of education technology. At this conference, you&rsquo;ll connect with organizations and teachers, share your experiences and expertise, and help shape the future of English language education. This article is part of a series of posts introducing some of the conference speakers.</em></p>

<p>Meet Robyn Brinks Lockwood. Robyn is a Lecturer in English for the Foreign Students Program at Stanford University. She teaches academic listening, speaking, and writing courses to graduate students. Robyn will be joining our panel discussion on September 18 about elevating teachers&#39; voices and the future of English language education technology.</p>

<p><img alt="A woman smiling and standing next to a column" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1717/content_Melissa_Meet-Our-Speakers_Robyn.jpg" /></p>

<p>Robyn got into the world of ESL by accident. Back when she was in graduate school, she was originally supposed to work as a Teaching Assistant for a Comp 101 class when the department asked her to work with second-language learners instead.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&ldquo;My start in ESL was accidental&mdash;what I now call serendipity. From the first moment, I loved it. I haven&rsquo;t looked back since.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Robyn loves researching and teaching speaking. In social situations, she likes to observe and let others talk in order to find patterns.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&ldquo;For example, introducing yourself, asking for and giving advice or compliments, and even greeting others, follows a certain pattern. We often even say the same phrases when we perform those functions. My students often fear speaking with native speakers because they can&#39;t control it. They feel they don&#39;t know what the other person will say. While that is true to some degree, these patterns in structure and common phrasing actually make my students feel they have some level of control when you can somewhat predict what someone is going to say. These observations led to some of my course content and eventually to a textbook called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Social-Contexts-Communication-Study/dp/0472037161/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=robyn+brinks+lockwood+speaking+in+social+contexts&amp;qid=1630080601&amp;sr=8-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Speaking in Social Contexts</a>.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Robyn also likes to research, discuss, and use the flipped learning approach.</p>

<p>The flipped learning approach gives more power and responsibility to the students. In it, homework is assigned before the class. This homework activity allows students to learn at their own pace beforehand and prepare questions ahead of time. During class, students can then practice what they&rsquo;ve learned and get more timely&nbsp;feedback.</p>

<p>&ldquo;There are many benefits to flipping. My main reasons are for the interactive nature of the classroom, the student-centered nature, and the relationship I build with students. The pandemic has made online teaching even more important, which means interactivity, student-centered rooms, and relationship-building is even more important since we can&#39;t be in a physical classroom. Flipped learning is a fantastic way to not lose these things despite teaching online. I&#39;m not sure what the &#39;new normal&#39; will hold for education in the post-pandemic world, but I don&#39;t think online, blended, and flipped learning will disappear.&rdquo;</p>

<p>While there are many benefits associated with flipped learning, there are many myths too. Robyn wrote about some of those myths in an e-book called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Flipping-Classroom-Every-Teacher-Should-ebook/dp/B07B6QVS9N/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&amp;keywords=robyn+brinks+lockwood&amp;qid=1630080332&amp;sr=8-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Flipping the Classroom: What Every ESL Teacher Needs to Know</a>. She has also recorded a <a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08K55KGNC" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">blog about flipped learning</a> as well and is in the midst of recording another blog too.</p>

<p><strong>To hear Robyn speak, be sure to <a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2021" target="_blank">register for our virtual conference</a>.</strong></p>

<p>To learn more about Robyn, you can visit her <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/robyn-brinks-lockwood-35639a2" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and her <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/robyn-lockwood" target="_blank">Stanford Profile</a>. You can also check out more of her books at the following links:</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Academic-Discussions-University-Student/dp/0472037951/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&amp;keywords=robyn+brinks+lockwood&amp;qid=1630080367&amp;sr=8-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Leading Academic Discussions</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Office-Hours-Every-University-Student/dp/0472037609/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&amp;keywords=robyn+brinks+lockwood&amp;qid=1630080400&amp;sr=8-16" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Office Hours</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Point-Speaking-Academic-Purposes-Introduction/dp/047203670X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?dchild=1&amp;keywords=robyn+brinks+lockwood+speaking+in+social+contexts&amp;qid=1630080725&amp;sr=8-2-fkmr0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Speaking for Academic Purposes</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/THE6PRINCIPLESFOREXEMPLARYTEACHINGOFENGLISHLEARNERS-14139/dp/1945351683/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&amp;keywords=robyn+brinks+lockwood&amp;qid=1630080400&amp;sr=8-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The 6 Principles of Exemplary Teaching</a></li>
</ul>


Meet the ESL Library Virtual Conference Speakers: Robyn Brinks Lockwood

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<p>Have you heard about the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/esl-talk/id1548652844" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ESL Talk podcast</a>? As described on their Apple Podcast page, ESL Talk is &ldquo;a podcast for English teachers by English teachers.&rdquo; In each episode, the hosts and their guests discuss various teaching topics, methods, and approaches specifically pertaining to ESL teachers. Here are some key takeaways from their episode on effective speaking strategies.</p>

<h2>Incorporate more small group discussions</h2>

<p>Whether it&rsquo;s for a warm-up exercise, a comprehension check-up, or an end-of-class discussion, try to incorporate discussion-based pair work and group work as often as possible.</p>

<h2>Don&rsquo;t give the answer immediately</h2>

<p>When your students ask questions, don&rsquo;t immediately give them the answer. Instead, ask your class what they think the correct answer is or put students into pairs to discuss what&nbsp;the right answer might be. If you&rsquo;re teaching a student one-on-one, you can first ask your student what they think the answer is. Giving your students the opportunity to discover the right answer on their own will get them talking and will help them to become more independent.</p>

<h2>Provide students with positive feedback</h2>

<p>After a speaking task, be sure to provide both constructive and positive feedback. Encouragement will increase your students&rsquo; confidence which will lead to chattier, happier students!</p>

<h2>Give students options and choices</h2>

<p>When assigning a speaking task, provide your students with choices. If your students can choose topics that they are interested in and passionate about, they will feel more comfortable to speak about that topic.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Create a friendly and safe environment</h2>

<p>Create an environment where students aren&rsquo;t afraid to make mistakes. Lead by example when you make a mistake and remind your students often that they don&rsquo;t have to be perfect. Use humor too! Jokes will help to put your students at ease.</p>

<h2>Speak as little as possible</h2>

<p>At first glance this may seem odd, but try to speak as little as possible. As a teacher, you are the language facilitator. Your job is to check, clarify, and empower.</p>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/3608">Speak Up (Beg)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/3594">Speak Up (Int)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/3611">Speak Up (High Int)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/3351">Conversation Questions (digital)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/3087">Conversation Questions (printable)</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-speaking-tips-for-students">5 Recording Tips for Students</a></li>
</ul>

<p>Teachers, what speaking strategies do you use in your classroom to get your students to talk? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Key Takeaways from ESL Talk Podcast on Speaking Strategies

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<p>Have you heard about the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/esl-talk/id1548652844" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ESL Talk podcast</a>? As described on their Apple Podcast page, ESL Talk is &ldquo;a podcast for English teachers by English teachers.&rdquo; In each episode, the hosts and their guests discuss various teaching topics, methods, and approaches specifically pertaining to ESL teachers. Here are some key takeaways from their episode on flipped&nbsp;learning.</p>

<h2>What is flipped learning?</h2>

<p>In the traditional way of teaching, homework is assigned and expected to be completed at home after a teacher has given a lecture on the corresponding topic assigned. The flipped learning approach flips this traditional teaching style on its head. This method gives more power and responsibility to the students. In the flipped learning approach, homework is assigned before the class. This homework activity allows students to learn at their own pace beforehand and prepare questions ahead of time. During class, students can then practice what they&rsquo;ve learned and get more timely&nbsp;feedback.</p>

<h2>Applying flipped learning in the&nbsp;classroom</h2>

<p>To apply flipped learning in the classroom, you would first assign a reading, an activity, or a video to be completed prior to the beginning of the class. This homework assignment will set the stage for the class. Then, begin your class by facilitating a task that will check your students&rsquo; understanding of the homework material assigned to them. This task can also be used to address any questions your students may have. Just be careful not to repeat the whole homework lesson. Once this check-in task is complete, you can move to the main&nbsp;activity.</p>

<p>A speaking activity was recommended by the podcasts hosts as an oral task gives you the opportunity to provide feedback promptly and continuously throughout the&nbsp;class.</p>

<h2>Give your students choices</h2>

<p>The main activity should also involve a choice. Giving your students choices will allow the learner to pick a topic that they&rsquo;re interested in and passionate about. This will build their confidence, improve their motivation, and put your students at ease.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>In summary</h2>

<p>With the flipped learning approach, the teacher becomes the facilitator. The teacher simply provides the tools and instructions for the students. Then, the students take control and learn by using while the teacher monitors and offers timely and thoughtful feedback.</p>

<p>Teachers, have you applied flipped learning in your classroom? Let us know in the comments&nbsp;below!</p>


Key Takeaways from ESL Talk Podcast on Flipped Learning

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<p>Did you watch <a href="http://www.tesol.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TESOL International Association</a>&rsquo;s webinar&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-N28JGQmz4&amp;ab_channel=TESOLInternationalAssociation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Cup of Coffee with TESOL Experts: Work-Life Balance</a>? If you missed it, don&rsquo;t worry&mdash;we&rsquo;ve got you covered. Here are some key takeaways from the TESOL coffee chat.</p>

<h2>Keeping a healthy work-life balance in online environments</h2>

<p>In this webinar, the expert panelists discussed the following question: how can we keep a healthy work-life balance in virtual environments? A healthy balance is incredibly important for your mental health, while an unhealthy one can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and even dissatisfaction with being a teacher. In this chat, the expert panelists provided four tips for achieving a healthy work-life balance.</p>

<h3>Enjoy the flexibility that comes with working from home</h3>

<p>Working from home provides flexibility that many people didn&rsquo;t have before. Take advantage of this and take short 15-minute breaks when you need to. Schedule your breaks and use a timer if you find it hard to actually take a break.</p>

<h3>Rely on your colleagues or network</h3>

<p>Lean on, learn from, and work with other teachers. Working from home in the middle of a pandemic can be isolating. Talk to each other! Create a community and share experiences, tips, tools, and resources.</p>

<h3>Rely on your students and try to involve them</h3>

<p>Designate one student to be your student helper for the week. For example, you could ask one student each week to lead a discussion or give a presentation. This will help reduce your work load and give your students the opportunity to learn and gain leadership skills in a different way.</p>

<h3>Use technology wisely</h3>

<p>From time to time, make sure to disconnect from technology. Take technology breaks when you need to and set limits for yourself if that helps you recharge and stay focused.</p>

<h2>In summary</h2>

<p>Pay attention to your body. If you&rsquo;re tired, it&rsquo;s okay to take a break. If you&rsquo;re feeling burnt out, it&rsquo;s okay to turn off your computer and your phone.</p>

<p>Teachers, what do you do to keep a healthy work-life balance? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Key Takeaways from A Cup of Coffee with TESOL Experts: Work-Life Balance

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<p>Did you watch <a href="http://www.teflonline.net/" target="_blank">TEFL International</a>&rsquo;s webinar on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROftFQ_ZW0I&amp;ab_channel=TEFL%26TESOLCourses-ITTTTEFL%26TESOLCourses-ITTT" target="_blank">the best ice breaker games every English language teacher should know</a>? If you missed it, don&rsquo;t worry&mdash;we&rsquo;ve got you covered. Here are some key takeaways from the webinar.</p>

<h1>What are ice breakers?</h1>

<p>Simply put, ice breaker games break the ice! Often used at the beginning of a new school year, ice breakers can help you and your students get to know each other. They are a great warm-up exercise to get your students to start speaking in English and will help you gauge their language level. Playing a game will also create a relaxing and enjoyable environment!</p>

<h2>Ice breaker games</h2>

<p>Here are three ice breaker games from the webinar that you can play with your students!</p>

<h3>Two Truths and a Lie</h3>

<p>This game is perfect with a brand new set of students. First, ask your students to write down two true statements and one false statement about themselves. Next, have your students take turns reading their statements out loud to the class. After they&rsquo;ve read out their statements, everyone else has to guess which statement was the lie. This game will help you get to know your class and will help your students get to know you!</p>

<h3>ABC Word Chain</h3>

<p>This game can be used to break the ice with a new class or it can be used anytime as a fun exercise for practicing vocabulary. First, choose a category and a word within that category. Then, have your students take turns creating a word chain by picking a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word. For example, if the category was &quot;furniture&quot;&nbsp;and the first word was &quot;bed,&quot; the next word could be &quot;dresser,&quot;&nbsp;and the word after that could be &quot;recliner,&quot; and so on.</p>

<h3>Finish the Sentence</h3>

<p>Similar to the ABC Word Chain game, this game can be used as an ice breaker or it can be used anytime as a fun exercise for building sentences. First, write the beginning of a sentence. Next, ask your students to complete the sentence in their own words. Finally, have your students take turns reading their answers out loud to the class.</p>

<p>Teachers, do you play ice breaker games with your students? What games do you play? If not, how do you break the ice and get to know your students? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Key Takeaways from TEFL International Webinar on Icebreaker Games

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<p>Did you watch <a href="http://www.tesol.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TESOL International Association&rsquo;s</a> coffee chat, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYI5M2CMcZE&amp;ab_channel=TESOLInternationalAssociation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Cup of Coffee with TESOL Experts: Giving Feedback</a>? If you missed it, don&rsquo;t worry&mdash;we&rsquo;ve got you covered. Here are some key takeaways.</p>

<h2>Providing effective feedback in online learning environments</h2>

<p>In this webinar, the expert panelists discussed the following question: how can we provide effective feedback in online learning environments? According to the panel of experts, effective online feedback needs to be timely, positive, constructive, specific, and clear.</p>

<h3>Effective online feedback needs to be timely</h3>

<p>Students need to know when they can expect feedback and it should be provided to them on a regular basis. Make time for giving your students feedback and build it into your schedule so it becomes part of your routine. For oral assignments, it&rsquo;s important to give corrective feedback in the moment. For written assignments, feedback doesn&rsquo;t have to be given right away, but it&rsquo;s not effective if it&rsquo;s given weeks after an assignment was due. Plus, if your lessons and assignments build on each other, it&rsquo;s important to give feedback before the next task.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;A safe environment helps students become better learners.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Carla Pastrana</p>
</blockquote>

<h3>Effective online feedback needs to be positive and constructive</h3>

<p>It&rsquo;s important for students to receive both positive and constructive feedback. First, highlight the positive. Let them know when they&rsquo;ve done something well and that you appreciate the effort they&rsquo;ve made. After you&rsquo;ve provided them with a positive comment, then you can offer them constructive feedback.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;If you exhibit self correction, that&#39;s only going to encourage them to do the same.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Elizabeth Adler</p>
</blockquote>

<h3>Effective online feedback needs to be specific and clear</h3>

<p>Lastly, effective online feedback should be specific and clear. There are a variety of ways that you can provide helpful feedback: you can offer an explicit correction; you can pinpoint an error and encourage the student to self-correct; or you can make suggestions and provide multiple options for correction. In an online environment especially, a student might find a quick recorded video with your feedback meaningful. If you teach a group of students, you can also provide collective feedback to the entire class through a video or a post with a list of common mistakes. You don&rsquo;t have to be the only one who gives feedback either&mdash;you can have your students provide feedback for each other too!</p>

<p>Teachers, when and how do you provide effective online feedback? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Key Takeaways from A Cup of Coffee with TESOL Experts: Giving Feedback

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<p>Did you watch&nbsp;<a href="http://www.teflonline.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TEFL International</a>&rsquo;s webinar on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkkH2IVLzYs&amp;ab_channel=TEFL%26TESOLCourses-ITTT" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ways to keep ESL students engaged after the lesson</a>? If you missed it, don&#39;t worry &ndash; we&rsquo;ve got you covered. Here are some key takeaways from the webinar.</p>

<h1>Customer Retention</h1>

<p>Even though customer retention is a marketing notion, the same concept can be applied to retain students. According to <a href="https://www.shopify.ca/blog/customer-retention-strategies#:~:text=Customer%20retention%20is%20the%20collection,from%20your%20existing%20customer%20base" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shopify</a>, &ldquo;customer retention is the collection of activities a business uses to increase the number of repeat customers and to increase the profitability of each existing customer.&rdquo; In other words, if we apply this same idea to the classroom, student retention is the collection of activities a teacher uses to increase the number of repeat students.</p>

<h1>Tips for Student Retention</h1>

<p>How can an ESL teacher retain students and get them to come back? A combination of personal qualities, teaching techniques, and lesson dynamics can influence student retention. Keeping this in mind, here are some tips for retaining students:</p>

<h2>Give clear instructions.</h2>
<p>Repeat, rephrase, and confirm that your students understand the task.</p>

<h2>Give positive feedback and praise often.</h2>
<p>When providing a critique, be sensitive and encouraging. Try not to over-correct; use a range of correction techniques and ask concept-checking questions.</p>

<h2>Select topics and tasks that are interesting to your students.</h2>
<p>Make sure the activities and materials are both engaging and challenging but not overwhelming.</p>

<h2>Give students a manageable amount of homework.</h2>
<p>Choose homework tasks that they&rsquo;ll find interesting and relevant. Be careful not to assign too much homework. An overwhelming amount of homework can cause a student to quickly lose their motivation for learning.</li>
</ol>

<h1>In Summary</h1>

<p>Students will be eager to learn more from you if they understand the instructions, enjoy the classroom activities and homework tasks, and get appropriate and helpful feedback.</p>

<p>Teachers, what student retention strategies do you use to engage your students and get them to come back for another lesson? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Key Takeaways from TEFL International Webinar on Student Retention 

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<p>The <a href="https://www.tesol.org/convention-2021">TESOL 2021 International Convention</a> was virtual this year. Though our team really missed talking to&nbsp;teachers face-to-face (and reuniting with remote coworkers), it was still a great opportunity to give <a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/exhibitors/esl-library-red-river-press/">presentations&nbsp;about ESL Library</a> and attend some wonderful PD sessions. We always come away from the conference feeling inspired and refreshed, and this year was no different in that regard.</p>

<p>Although I attended many excellent sessions on a variety of educational topics, one theme really caught my eyes and ears this year: the <strong>Genre-Based Approach</strong> (GBA). I was unfamiliar with this teaching method, but a quick overview of session descriptions piqued my interest.&nbsp;</p>

<h1>What Is the Genre-Based Approach?</h1>

<p>The word &quot;genre&quot; is defined in&nbsp;<em>Merriam-Webster</em>&nbsp;as&nbsp;&quot;a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.&quot;</p>

<p>In a nutshell, the Genre-Based Approach (GBA) is a teaching method that focuses on content over form. Genre here refers to a category&mdash;a set type of content.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The GBA is becoming more and more common in writing classes. With the GBA, you don&#39;t have students write for the sake of writing practice alone&mdash;you have them write&nbsp;with a purpose or action in mind, following a formula (or prototype)&nbsp;with common expressions that are&nbsp;specific to the genre.</p>

<p>For example, &quot;write a recipe&quot; would be an example of a genre-based writing task, but &quot;write a paragraph about your last vacation&quot; would not be. Recipes follow a certain, familiar prototype (usually a list of ingredients followed by instructions in sequence) with common expressions (measurements, &quot;cooking&quot; action verbs, etc.).</p>

<h1>How Can We Use the GBA in Our Teaching?</h1>

<p>Ann Johns and Christine Tardy gave an informative presentation on Friday, March 26, 2021, called <a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/sessions/genre-based-instruction-frequently-asked-questionsnand-answers/">Genre-Based Instruction: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers</a>. Later on Friday, Colin Ward and Alice Savage gave a&nbsp;compelling presentation called <a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/sessions/the-genre-based-classroom-whys-and-hows/">The Genre-Based Classroom: Whys and Hows</a>.</p>

<p>Johns and Tardy mentioned that it&#39;s important to teach not only the genre prototype (common practices developed over the years), but also the variations. They gave an example of a wedding invitation. Students from other countries may not be familiar with the localized genre (i.e., they don&#39;t necessarily have the &quot;genre-specific knowledge&quot; they need to understand or reproduce something from that genre), so a good place to start would be to show examples of a typical wedding invitation. Once you&#39;ve taught them the formal language and expressions used in a typical invitation, you can start pointing out the variations (e.g., some wedding invitations spell out the dates, whereas others use numerical forms).</p>

<p>Johns and Tardy summed up by saying it&#39;s important to assign writing tasks based on everyday genres such as advertisements, menus, product reviews, emails, etc. They reminded us that any writing should be meaningful <em>right now</em>&nbsp;and should never be writing only for the sake of writing (as is common in a typical academic essay assignment). &quot;The actions the genre is used to accomplish&quot; was reiterated throughout their presentation, and they concluded that the goal of any writing&nbsp;class should be &quot;to enact writing, not to practice writing.&quot;</p>

<p>In their presentation, Ward and Savage discussed three pertinent questions about teaching writing nowadays:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Why is the five-paragraph essay under attack?</li>
	<li>Is genre the solution?</li>
	<li>What do genre-informed writing lessons look like?</li>
</ul>

<p>Ward and Savage said that though the typical academic essay can help guide lower-level students, it&#39;s too strict and too focused on form over content. They explained how writing with a clear audience in mind helps students have a sense of purpose with their writing (e.g., writing to a politician vs. writing for the professor).</p>

<p>They mentioned that genre helps teachers rethink the way they teach writing. For example, if you wanted to teach your students to write a recipe, you could start by teaching the vocabulary, grammar, fixed expressions, and patterns of language that are common to that genre. Ward and Savage reminded us that genre-informed writing tasks always have a clear audience and purpose and prioritize content over form.</p>

<h1>Using the Genre-Based Approach with ESL Library Materials</h1>

<p>Not everyone teaches and learns in the same way. At ESL Library, we have always tried to include a wide variety of teaching methodologies in our materials, and many of our writing lessons could be used to teach with the GBA.</p>

<p>Our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons">Writing in English</a> section contains many lessons that focus on how to write for a genre such as text messages, emails, recipes, tweets, and various business topics such as resumes, cover letters, and business letters. Try some out with your students and see if they respond better to a content-focused writing lesson (rather than form-focused).&nbsp;</p>

<p>It&#39;s important to keep in mind that different students will respond to different methodologies. For those students who crave more guidance and a step-by-step approach, we also have <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons">writing lessons</a> that focus on structure (including lessons on how to write an outline, introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, concluding paragraph, and summary).</p>

<h1>Conclusion</h1>

<p>Have you ever used the Genre-Based Approach in your classroom? We&#39;d love to hear from you in the comments section below. What worked and what didn&#39;t work?</p>

<p>Personally, I&#39;d like to try the GBA, though I&#39;m always wary of all-or-nothing styles of teaching. Ideally, I&#39;d combine GBA-style lessons with structured lessons and see what my students responded to. I have a feeling that, much like with grammar (I love a combination of the implicit/inductive/Socratic method where I elicit the target or have my students learn in context, followed&mdash;or sometimes preceded&mdash;by the explicit/deductive method where I present the target&#39;s rules and exceptions), I would use a combination of content-focused and form-focused materials to teach writing in my classroom.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<p>If you want to give the GBA a try in your writing class, here are some ESL Library lessons you could use:</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1828">How to Write a Blog Post</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1991">How to Write a Recipe</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1829">How to Write an Email</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2365">How to Write a Note</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2053">How to Tweet</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2239">How to Fill Out a Form</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2099">How to Write a Resume</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2102">How to Write a Cover Letter</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1942">How to Write a Business Letter</a></li>
</ul>


The Genre-Based Approach: TESOL 2021 Session Reviews

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<h1>Virtual TESOL 2021</h1>

<p>A few members of the ESL Library team attend the annual TESOL convention every year. As per tradition, we always&nbsp;spend the Monday after TESOL reflecting on the event and sharing summaries of the top takeaways and sessions.&nbsp;Over the past several years, we&#39;ve attended TESOL in <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesolboston2010">Boston</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-2011new-orleans">New Orleans</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-12-convention-recap">Philadelphia</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-portland">Portland</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/highlights-from-tesol-2015-in-toronto-canada">Toronto</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/baltimore-charms-the-esl-library-team-for-tesol-16">Baltimore</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-17">Seattle</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-18-chicago">Chicago</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tara-tanyas-top-10-tesol-takeaways">Atlanta</a>. This year&#39;s virtual TESOL was an entirely different experience, but we were thrilled&nbsp;to be able to sponsor the&nbsp;event, share what we&#39;ve been up to for the past two years, and attend sessions for our own professional development. Here are some of my personal highlights and takeaways!</p>

<h2>5 Great TESOL Sessions</h2>

<h3><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/transformative-classrooms/">Transformative&nbsp;Classrooms</a></h3>

<h4>Dr. Clint Smith&nbsp;</h4>

<p>Many attendees&nbsp;missed <a href="https://twitter.com/ClintSmithIII">Dr. Smith&#39;s</a> live opening plenary due to technical problems, but we were all grateful&nbsp;to TESOL for offering the recording so we didn&#39;t have to miss this great talk. Dr. Smith inspired us with poetry instead of powerpoints and spoke about the educator&#39;s&nbsp;role&nbsp;in teaching history and bringing relevant conversations to the classroom.</p>

<p><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/transformative-classrooms/"><img alt="Dr. Clint Smith at TESOL" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1361/content_Screen_Shot_2021-03-29_at_12.44.07_PM.png" style="width: 500px; height: 275px;" /></a></p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;It is so important for us to recognize that, as educators, we have a real opportunity and we have a real responsibility to create small communities in our classrooms&nbsp;in which our students can feel like they have the space and they have the permission and they have the opportunity to wrestle with and ask questions about things that, in other contexts of their lives, they might not be able to ask questions about.&rdquo;</p>

<p>&mdash;Dr. Clint Smith</p>
</blockquote>

<h3><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/sessions/the-ubiquitous-no-3/">The Ubiquitous No. 3</a></h3>

<h4>Dr. Gabriel Maggioli</h4>

<p>Here at ESL Library, we&#39;re about to launch our new digital speaking task, so I was excited to attend this session that focused on student speaking. One thing that Dr. Maggioli pointed out that I hadn&#39;t thought about for this task type is that we seldom&nbsp;give students the time to plan out what they are going to say.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/sessions/the-ubiquitous-no-3/"><img alt="Dr. Maggioli at TESOL" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1357/content_Screen_Shot_2021-03-25_at_3.12.58_PM.png" style="width: 500px; height: 322px;" /></a></p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;One of the characteristics of active, engaged learners who actually progress in language learning fairly quickly is that they do take a lot of risks.&quot;</p>

<p>&mdash;Dr. Maggioli</p>
</blockquote>

<h3><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/sessions/implementing-6-thinking-hats-in-large-language-classrooms/">Implementing&nbsp;6 Thinking Hats in Large Language Classrooms</a></h3>

<h4>Kaukab Azhar</h4>

<p>This session focused on critical thinking skills. There were some useful takeaways for business teams too! Though Kaukab Azhar recommended that we shouldn&#39;t categorize people as a certain hat-wearing &quot;type,&quot; it was hard not to think this way. I definitely wear&nbsp;my&nbsp;red hat (thinking with feeling and intuition)&nbsp;first and foremost.&nbsp;The speaker suggested that everyone should wear&nbsp;the same hat at the same time during a discussion, but also that everyone should try wearing all hats. Here&#39;s more info about Edward de Bono&#39;s <a href="https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/six-thinking-hats/">6 Thinking Hats</a>.</p>

<p><a href="http://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/sessions/implementing-6-thinking-hats-in-large-language-classrooms/"><img alt="Kaukab Azhar at TESOL 2021" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1358/content_Screen_Shot_2021-03-26_at_9.14.10_AM.png" style="width: 500px; height: 301px;" /></a></p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Employers are looking for criticial thinking skills.&quot;</p>

<p>&mdash;Kaukab Azhar</p>
</blockquote>

<h3><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/using-gamification-to-balance-academic-rigor-and-soft-skill-development/">Using Gamification to Balance Academic Rigor and Soft Skill Development</a></h3>

<h4>Dr. Katie Welch</h4>

<p>Katie had so many great ideas about keeping online learners engaged by gamifying your course. If you&#39;re concerned that your students log in and then head off to do other activities, she has a trick for keeping their eyes on the screen (hide Easter eggs for bonus points). This presentation proved that the look and feel of a presentation and the energy of a speaker is key to keeping the audience engaged.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/using-gamification-to-balance-academic-rigor-and-soft-skill-development/"><img alt="Katie Welch at TESOL 2021" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1356/content_Screen_Shot_2021-03-26_at_10.24.20_AM.png" style="width: 500px; height: 279px;" /></a></p>

<blockquote>
<p>&ldquo;You can still take gamification elements and use them in your classroom even if you&rsquo;re a nube (new/non-gamer).&rdquo;</p>

<p>&mdash;Dr. Katie Welch</p>
</blockquote>

<h3><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/10-quick-and-easy-tricks-for-creating-effective-reading-worksheets/">10 Quick and Easy Tricks for Creating Effective Reading&nbsp;Worksheets</a></h3>

<h4>Nancy Overman</h4>

<p>Our in-house materials writers and editors always get&nbsp;inspiration from teachers at TESOL, and we love to attend sessions like Nancy&#39;s.&nbsp;If you like to make your own materials, you&#39;ll find some fun ideas here.</p>

<p><a href="http://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/10-quick-and-easy-tricks-for-creating-effective-reading-worksheets/"><img alt="Nancy Overman at TESOL 2021" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1363/content_Screen_Shot_2021-03-29_at_12.49.42_PM.png" style="width: 500px; height: 295px;" /></a></p>

<h2>5 Benefits of the Virtual Environment</h2>

<p>Though it&#39;s easy for a remote worker like me to conclude that a&nbsp;face-to-face TESOL convention has more to offer than a virtual one, there were definitely a few benefits to going virtual, including:</p>

<ul>
	<li>long-term access to recorded sessions &amp; keynotes</li>
	<li>connecting virtually with attendees and speakers and quickly finding them on other platforms like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/esl-library/">LinkedIn</a></li>
	<li>ability to politely leave a session that is not a good fit</li>
	<li>ability to take notes on a laptop (instead of going through pages of handwritten notes on the airplane)</li>
	<li>eliminating the&nbsp;risk of contracting COVID-19 (plus no need to hire a puppy sitter!)</li>
</ul>

<h2>5 TESOL Takeaways&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Here are a few of my takeaways from this year:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Tech difficulties happen to everyone. We all need to be patient with each other (and have back-up plans).</li>
	<li>Learning online all day is exhausting. There are so many distractions. Let&#39;s be patient with our students.</li>
	<li>Conferences, even virtual ones, are a fantastic opportunity for networking.&nbsp;1,808 people visited the ESL Library booth!&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Genre-based language teaching is an&nbsp;ELT trend to watch for this year (starting with relevant, engaging topics is key).&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/collections">We&#39;ve got you covered there!&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li>Classrooms are small communities. A simple affirmation from an engaged, caring&nbsp;teacher can change a student&#39;s life forever. (A grade 3 teacher looked over Clint Smith&#39;s shoulder as he wrote a poem about clouds. That teacher told him he could be a writer one day.)</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>&ldquo;We realize the importance of trusting in ourselves, knowing that we have superpowers and that this past year has helped us find them and develop them.&rdquo;</p>

<p>&mdash;Deborah Short</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>5 ESL Library&nbsp;Sessions</h2>

<p>If you attended TESOL, we hope you had a chance to come to one of our sessions! If you missed one,&nbsp;you&nbsp;can access ESL Library&#39;s recorded sessions at any time.</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-2021-coffee-talk">Coffee Talk: Encouraging Open Discussion &amp; Debate in Language Classrooms</a>: Tara &amp; Ben with Ann&nbsp;(Summary)</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/sessions/using-images-to-elicit-teach-and-reinforce-target-structures/">Using Images to Elicit, Teach, and Reinforce Target Structures</a>: Ben with Tara (Recording for TESOLers)</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/maximize-student-success-using-esl-library-content-and-courseware/">Maximize&nbsp;Student Success Using ESL Library Content &amp; Courseware</a>: Ben with Tammy (Recording for TESOLers)</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/teaching-social-justice-topics-online-with-esl-library/">Teaching Social Justice Topics Online with ESL Library</a>: Tammy with Lei&nbsp;(Recording for TESOLers)</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolvirtual.tesol.showcare.io/lessons/maximize-student-success-using-esl-library-content-and-courseware-2/">Maximize Student Success Using ESL Library Content &amp; Courseware</a>: Tammy&nbsp;with Ben (Recording for TESOLers)</li>
</ul>

<p>We also have similar sessions available in our <a href="https://help.ellii.com/category/119-digital-tools">Help</a> section if you didn&#39;t register for TESOL. Tammy&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlrA1efMOnQ">Quick Intro</a>&nbsp;offers&nbsp;a handy overview for anyone to watch at any time.</p>

<p>Did you attend this year&#39;s virtual TESOL? Do&nbsp;you have any sessions to recommend or highlights to share?&nbsp;Please leave a comment for us. We hope to see you in person next year!&nbsp;</p>


Reflections on the TESOL 2021 Virtual Conference

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<blockquote>
<p>Session Description: <em>Bring a beverage and join us for casual conversation about the real-world topics you discuss in your classroom and how you create an environment that facilitates open discussion and debate.</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>TESOL 2021 got off to a rocky start technically, but we were grateful that the stars aligned just in time for us to host our first ever Coffee Talk.</p>

<p>The best part of TESOL every year is catching up with teachers who are actively working in the field, especially ones who rely on ESL Library and have important ideas and feedback to share.&nbsp;This&nbsp;year, we invited teachers to join us for an informal chat about discussion and debate in the language classroom. We prepared a short introduction and a list of questions, and the amazing teachers who joined us filled in the rest!&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some of the questions we discussed:</p>

<ul>
	<li>What real-world issues do you discuss in your classrooms?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>How do you find out what your students want to talk about?</li>
	<li>Are there some topics that you are hesitant to discuss or would not discuss?</li>
	<li>Do your students have the language they need to discuss and debate relevant topics?</li>
	<li>What do you do when discussions or debates get heated?</li>
	<li>How can you make your students feel comfortable sharing their varying viewpoints?</li>
	<li>Do you share your own personal opinions, or do you act solely as a facilitator/guide/listener?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>How important is reflection after a class discussion or debate? How can teachers encourage reflection?</li>
</ul>

<p>Here is a short summary of a few key points teachers made in our conversation:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Teachers need to pay close attention to their students to understand their interests. <em>What do they carry with them (e.g., skateboards) or wear (e.g., concert Ts)? What do they discuss in their own languages?</em> Some teachers start with an open discussion period.</li>
	<li>Many teachers agreed it is tough to discuss real-world topics with low-level learners (though many of the students really want to). We talked about the need for students to have&nbsp;the foundations first. Talking about familiar topics (family, health, school, community) is a stepping stone before getting into controversial&nbsp;topics like politics or crime.</li>
	<li>One teacher said she&nbsp;asked students&nbsp;what issues they would like the president to focus on. This is how she discovered issues that were important to her students.</li>
	<li>Some teachers felt that cultural topics&nbsp;(holidays, festivals, traditions) were a good starting point, even for low levels. Others suggested using pictures, collaborative boards, or videos.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>One teacher recommended putting multi-level students in small groups to help lower-level learners get their points across. In groups, they&nbsp;can work on a writing piece together (sometimes relying on their L1) and then share it with the class.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Everyone agreed on the importance of sentence frames (and we shared some resources from our <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/124/resources">Sentence Stems</a> section).</li>
	<li>Some teachers said they talk about anything and everything with their students, including sensitive subjects. Other teachers said there are some topics such as &quot;crime&quot; or &quot;politics&quot; that they avoid. One teacher said he was&nbsp;only allowed to cover subjects from the textbook.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Many teachers mentioned that the location they teach in determines whether or not their students are comfortable discussing certain topics.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Teachers said that in a group setting, they focus on being facilitators and remaining neutral. Their role is to help students find the language and to help teach respect (turn-taking, listening to others&#39; opinions, etc.). In a one-to-one situation, this may be different&nbsp;since students often&nbsp;expect their teacher&nbsp;to be their conversation partner.</li>
	<li>Teachers expressed concerns about the&nbsp;pandemic. In addition to technical problems, many students are not comfortable going on video or using their microphones. Students are experiencing&nbsp;a language slide, especially in speaking. Some just join a room and leave, so teachers have to think of activities to keep them engaged.</li>
	<li>We shared the exciting news that our new Speaking Task is almost ready. This new task type will give students a chance to reflect on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons">discussion topics</a> from class that they may&nbsp;want to talk more about. It will also give students a chance to practice using new language in a comfortable space.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>One teacher expressed how much her students love <a href="https://info.flipgrid.com/">Flipgrid</a>. We shared that we are now a FlipGrid Discovery partner!</li>
</ul>

<p>The hour went too fast, and not all of the attendees got a chance to share their great ideas or questions. Fortunately, some visited us at our booth to pick up some free resources and continue the conversation.&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>A Restorative Circle can help students have difficult conversations. In this setting, the teacher has students sit in a circle&nbsp;and poses a question to the group. There is a &ldquo;speaking stick/object&rdquo; and only the person holding it can speak. The next speaker can add to the previous comment, answer the question themselves, or use the &ldquo;pass&rdquo; feature if they don&rsquo;t feel comfortable speaking. This provides a comfortable and safe place for students to contribute to difficult conversations! Can be done virtually as well using FlipGrid or live in a Zoom or Google Meet! &mdash;Crystal</blockquote>

<p>Here are some more questions we didn&#39;t get a chance to cover:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>How do you find out if your students are comfortable or ready to talk about a certain topic or issue?</li>
	<li>Which current events have you discussed in class&nbsp;recently?</li>
	<li>Do you have any recommendations for where to find authentic materials for discussion?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Do you teach your students about bias and separating facts from opinions?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Do you teach your students about using credible sources? Do you talk about fake news?</li>
	<li>Would you discuss the following&hellip;? (gun control, puppy mills, inclusive language, war, slavery, memes)</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;One of the worst things we can do as educators is feel that we cannot tackle controversial topics in our classrooms. We are not preparing our students to encounter and engage with the complicated world...&quot;</p>

<p>&mdash;Dr. Clint Smith, TESOL 2021 opening keynote speaker</p>
</blockquote>

<p>At ESL Library, our main mission has always been to encourage open communication around the world. Like Dr. Smith, the opening plenary speaker, we believe that language teachers have an important role to play in doing this. We&#39;d like to say a special thank-you to all of the teachers who joined us for this very important conversation at TESOL.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Related Resources</h2>

<ul>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/124/resources">Sentence Stems</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/70/lessons">Social Justice Lesson Collection</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons">Discussion Starters</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons">Mini-Debates</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/133/lessons">English with The Washington Post</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons">Holidays &amp; Events</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons">Famous People</a></li>
</ul>
