TeachingEnglish newsletter 18 April 2018

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 18 April 2018 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter This week we announce the winner of our Blog of the Month award, which goes to Kasia Piotrowska and her post 'Sore throat listening challenge'. We also invite you to participate in our free course, which is just starting - 'Language assessment in the classroom'. For the classroom, we have a new lesson plan for young learners - 'Signs of spring'. And to help you celebrate World Book Day on 23 April, take a look at our integrated skills lesson for A2 learners. If you teach Business English, Virginia Lopez Grisolia's talk revisits the role of grammar in Business English in light of the increased use of English as a lingua franca among non-native speakers. And, finally, although IATEFL Online has come to an end, you can still watch recorded talks. This week we feature two signature events by the British Council and Oxford University Press. We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids 'Signs of spring' is a lesson for young learners aged 6-10 living in northern-hemisphere countries where it is currently spring, and is especially useful to see how nature comes to life in this season. In this lesson children identify the objects on their worksheet together and then go outside or look at pictures inside the classroom to see what they can find. As spring progresses, more and more of the objects on the worksheet appear, so your students may enjoy doing the activity at the beginning, middle and end of the season. [Go to the lesson plan]( Teaching teens Celebrate World Book Day on 23 April with this lesson for A2 learners. Students work in pairs, reading and writing to complete a text about World Book Day. Then they read clues and complete a book-themed crossword (and find a mystery word). The learners will then use a simple model to write about their own favourite book and add an illustration, using some of the vocabulary they have practised. Finally they will read their texts in class or record themselves reading the texts. [Go to the lesson plan]( Teaching adults With English having become a lingua franca and business exchanges occurring mostly among non-native speakers, it is time to revisit the role of grammar in Business English. To that effect, Virginia Lopez Grisolia conducted a study to collect data regarding the weight assigned to grammar, as well as the methodology and materials employed in BE sessions delivered in Buenos Aires. Watch a recording of her talk at IATEFL, in which she looks at the role of grammar in Business English. [Watch a recording of this talk]( Development Register for our free course for language teachers - Language assessment in the classroom. In this course, you will learn about the principles of sound language assessment and develop an understanding of the ideas in developing different types of test and how they can be applied. With guidance from experienced test developers and international assessment experts, you will explore practical ways of assessing language and skills which you can use in your classroom. [Find out more and sign up]( Events IATEFL Online 2018 has now ended but you can still watch talks you may have missed. This week we feature two signature events. First, is the 'British Council Signature Event Remote teaching - bridging the gap', which looks at the effectiveness of remote teaching and the British Council partnership with Plan Ceibal in Uruguay. [Watch a recording of this event]( The second is the 'Oxford University Press Signature Event: Beneficial consequences of assessment', in which a panel of invited academics, experts, practitioners and teacher educators discuss the opportunities and pitfalls of assessment. [Watch a recording of this event]( Magazine Our featured Blog of the Month award for March 2018 goes to Kasia Piotrowska and her post 'Sore throat listening challenge'. Kasia's engaging lesson plan aims to help learners become better listeners and is easily adapted to most ages and levels. Other shortlisted posts for March 2018 feature two ideas for class discussions, a lesson plan using a short film and an exploration of mistakes that new teachers make. [Find out 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](