TeachingEnglish newsletter 21 March 2018

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 21 March 2018 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter This week we feature a lesson plan for primary learners that focuses on story brainstorming and planning. For teenagers and adults, we feature lessons that are designed to develop reading and speaking skills - 'A boyhood home' (in Liverpool), and 'A night out in Newcastle'. Our development resource this week comes from our collection on 'Assessing learners' - two articles that introduce you to the basics of test-writing. We also have a recording of a very practical webinar by Amy Lightfoot on using mobile technology in the classroom, and a useful blog post to help you better understand and manage learners at B2 level - 'Ideas for beating the B2 plateau'. And finally, don't forget to register for our next webinar on 28 March - [Teacher evaluation in ELT]( with Simon Borg. We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids This activity, 'Anna's wet day out', trains young learners to plan a very simple story by looking at the brainstorming process prior to writing, then allowing them to select ideas and guiding them to the actual writing of the story through a clearly staged plan. [Go to the lesson plan]( Teaching teens This lesson, 'A boyhood home', for B2-level learners is based on the theme of the National Trust and the restoration of John Lennon's childhood home, and his life. It consists of two texts which explore the relationships between buildings and famous people who lived in them. Learners practise speaking about past memories and life histories and practise past tenses. [Go to the lesson plan]( Teaching adults 'A night out in Newcastle' is a lesson plan for teachers of teenagers and adults at intermediate level and above that explores the theme of things to do in a city at night. Students will have an opportunity to develop their reading skills, work co-operatively in a group and deduce meaning from context. [Go to the lesson plan]( Development 'Assessing learning' involves applying the principles and practice of assessment to designing tasks for measuring learners' progress, and this week we feature two articles for those of you who are looking to develop in the area of test-writing. Writing a good test is indeed quite a challenge! [Article 1]( looks at some important considerations, including reliability, validity and affect. [Article 2]( examines different question types and their functions, and their advantages and disadvantages. Events In this practical seminar, 'A beginner's guide to mobile learning in ELT', Amy Lightfoot explores the current opportunities for learning English using mobile phones both in and out of the classroom. She debates the pros and cons of this medium and looks at a variety of content that is currently available. She shares her experiences of creating some of this content and discusses the early outcomes of these projects. Amy also considers the educational implications of widespread mobile phone availability, particularly in developing countries. [Watch a recording]( Magazine Once learners reach a certain point - often around intermediate or upper-intermediate level - things slow down. The quick results and easy wins of the early stages have finished. When Corinna Keefe ran into this problem, she found some good advice from the world of fitness. Read her latest post - 'Ideas for beating the B2 plateau' - to find out what she learned and how you can help your B2 learners. [Read more]( You have received this newsletter because you registered on our website or previously showed interest in British Council news. If you wish to opt out of future newsletters, please unsubscribe [here](. British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London, SW1A 2BN United Kingdom [SafeUnsubscribe™ {EMAIL}]( [Forward this email]( | [Update Profile]( | [About our service provider]( Sent by teachingenglish@britishcouncil.org in collaboration with [Constant Contact]( [Try it free today](