Short and Sweet: Using short films to promote Creativity and Communication; a Workshop by Kieran Donaghy – Report

In Kieran’s workshop we explored how short films can be used in the classroom. The advantages of short films are that they are almost free, varied and not time-consuming. Teachers can use them to promote creativity, practice communicative skills – both written and oral – with their students, and boost critical thinking.

Kieran started by quoting that researches and studies have shown that creativity is lost while people are growing up. As one gets older, this ability declines to ¼ of what we are born with.  Then he asked us to find ways to use a paper-clip or a cardboard box. The ideas we came up with were quite innovative, creative and funny. Then we watched a short film with the adventures of a Cardboard box. The ways a child perceives the use of a box are limitless.

The second film was about creativity and the 29 ways to be creative. Language teaching can be creative if educators take risks, do not give up and collaborate. The next short film was about a manifesto. What is a manifesto? What type of manifesto could a short film promote? The video is a call for action to live a life passionately and with integrity. It urges viewers to see their lives from another perspective, change what does not satisfy them, change their way of thinking and enjoy life. Kieran suggested that students could create their own manifesto and express what radical changes they would like to have in their lives.

The last video was about secrets and thoughts that people can share without revealing them. It encourages us to think about something positive, exhilarating, something that could make us happy.

The workshop ended with Kieran suggesting to us websites from which we could use short films in the classroom, i.e. futureshorts, vimeo, staff picks, english-english.com

EFL teachers who would like to implement short films in their  lessons should visit Kieran Donaghy’s site http://film-english.com/

By Georgia Psarra

Professional Development for Now and the Future: A Guide for Educators; a Workshop by Vicky Loras - Report

First of all I have to say that it is always such a joy to have Vicky Loras with us in Thessaloniki.

Ms Loras talked about why teachers should continue their professional development and how to do it.

Why should a teacher get involved in this?

The answers are many.

First of all, it is about personal learning. We, teachers, learn new things to improve ourselves both personally and professionally.

We can learn new methods, we keep ourselves motivated, we can further our career and there is a chance that we can find better working positions.

How can we develop professionally?

• Conferences, workshops, swapshops

There are plenty of local and international events.

You can listen to great talks, you can get ideas, you can suggest ideas, you can talk with other educators

(Swapshops are sessions where teachers each bring their own ideas and present them for about seven minutes, they all present and swap ideas)

• Discussion groups

You can get together with colleagues, or friend-teachers who work at other schools, choose a topic, discuss, find new ways to implement what you have learned, find solutions to problems. You can even take notes and write a newsletter, which all the participants can keep.

• Mentoring

You can mentor a new colleague, or a colleague with a problem or a fellow educator in need of new ideas, or you can be mentored.

• Observe and be observed

This can be really intimidating, when it comes from the school management. Peer observation, on the other hand, is less frightening.

• Journals

There are so many journals out there.  You can read about new ideas, think critically, share your ideas.

• Isolation

A teacher can be isolated, maybe there are no supportive colleagues or the distances are great or the schedules are different, maybe you are a freelancer and have nobody to talk to, or maybe you are unemployed or underemployed.

But…

There is always someone for you ONLINE

Connecting on line:

“It’s not about plugging into devices, it’s about being plugged to each other”

So… there is Twitter, Facebook, blogs and so much more for you to build your own PLN (Personal Learning Network)

By Theodora Papapanagiotou

Creating Lessons using Narratives: a Workshop by Carol Griffiths & Jiydegul Alymidin Kyzy - Report

Following the plenary presentation by Carol Griffiths, this was a very interesting workshop, during which we were encouraged to put into practice what was discussed in the plenary talk.

“Stories are universal and enjoyed across all ages and cultures”. Therefore stories can be an invaluable motivation to engage attention across a range of learning styles. The subject of this wonderful presentation was how to use narratives, stories to develop both receptive (listening and reading) and productive (speaking and writing) skills. Ms. Griffiths discussed issues such as motivation, attention, learning style, input and output and illustrated how an original story, written by students can be sequenced as a prompt to teach.

In the actual workshop, Jiydegul Alymidin Kyzy summarized what was presented in the plenary and we then moved on to a very stimulating activity.

The participants were given an authentic text and had to work in groups in order to find activities that would cover all five sections of an ELT lesson (Speaking & Writing, Listening, Reading, Vocabulary & Pronunciation and Grammar).

We were divided into groups of five and each one had to work on one particular skill and then presented our “work”. Each group generated a list of some very interesting suggestions including:

• Using synonyms to practice vocabulary;
• Replacing words from the text and having students find them;
• Correcting grammar mistakes;
• Students talking about an experience similar to the one described in the text and, as a follow-up, writing an essay about it;
• Rearranging jumbled paragraphs to practice Reading Comprehension; or
• Identifying topic sentences in paragraphs.

These were only a few of the ideas presented.

All in all, it was a really motivational workshop which provided us with lots of material and ideas for our lessons.

 By Theodora Papapanagiotou

Researching the Promotion of Strategic Learning in the EFL Classroom by Athina Vrettou and Angeliki Psaltou-Joycey - Report

Nowadays teachers are dealing with the challenge of “learning how to learn” and research is focused on redefining L2 strategies. The aim is to design an effective strategy instruction which will contribute to the maximization of students’ L2 performance. Athina Vrettou and Angeliki Paltou-Joycey presented the aims of a project named “Thalis” which is supported by European Union and explores the “identification of strategic profiles in primary and secondary level students around Greece as well as the promotion of strategies in EFL classroom.’

“Thalis” project was based on a pilot study which had the form of a questionnaire and lasted two months (November-December 2013). A sample of 58 teachers both of primary and secondary education from all of Greece participated in the study through an electronic method of administration.

One of the most important contributions of the study was that teachers were given the opportunity to regulate the use of L2 strategies in class and the effectiveness of strategy instruction was enhanced by the design of a teachers’ guide.

By Efi Tzouri

Let’s talk about Speaking! by Bozica Saric-Cvjetkovic - Report

Have you ever wondered why students feel so frustrated to communicate and express their opinion in the foreign language they are learning? Do you feel that we as teachers find ourselves run out of ideas of how to motivate our students to talk? Bozica Saric-Cvjetkovic prepared a very interesting presentation which aimed at charging teachers with ideas and tips of how to get students to talk and she showed how to make students become involved in the speaking process by creating activities which can increase the use of spoken language in class.

It is a fact that ,although students perform well in tests, they lack confidence in using spoken language in class. According to Bozica Saric-Cvjetkovic, the reason why this is happening is first of all due to the fact that teachers have to follow a strict curriculum which does not allow them to save time for speaking activities and, second, because most times speaking tasks are usually the  ones to be done just before the bell rings. Both reasons may explain why students feel so frustrated to express themselves orally.

Bozica suggests that the first thing to be done is to devote time in order to get prepared. If teachers increase preparation time, creativity and speaking productivity will be increased. Speaking activities should be based on topics that students would be motivated by. Also, it is important to create a secure and encouraging atmosphere in which learners would feel confident to talk. Avoiding topics that students cannot form an opinion on because of lack of information or vocabulary as well as avoidance of teacher correction and the lack of meaningful communication would enhance a positive result in speaking process.

Some of the activities that Bozica suggested in order to motivate students to talk are simple but effective:

• Use photos of city signs. Students could be asked to guess where the signs are from;
• Choose speaking activities based on grammar points students have been taught in class. For example, they can use modals of obligation in order to talk about things that they have to do at school;
• Guessing games, describing things in classroom or other classmates.

To conclude, Bozica points out that the less correction and the more the interaction and the confidence, the better the chance for students to perform in class. All they need is our encouragement and support.

By Efi Tzouri

“Godot Over the Wall” by Dave ‘n’ Luke - Report

Luke and Dave are well known for their  two-man English Teaching Theater Group “Dave’n’Luke”. They have adopted their own unique style of setting up their performances and they express themselves in their own exceptional way. “Godot over the wall” is their latest work which has been showed in ELT conferences both in Greece and abroad and has received a big success.

The play is based on Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and James Saunders’ Over the Wall. The story is set on an island where the characters lead an ordinary life. They work, they have enough to eat, they respect each other and they hope life will go on like that. No surprises, no turbulences, no happiness or unhappiness. The only awkward element is a wall which is built across the island. Although discussions have been raised now and then around the existence of the so-called “The Wall” no one can remember the date it first appeared on the island.

Despite the fact that the storyline follows the basic structure of the “theatre of the absurd” it succeeds in creating developed characters who dare to state their beliefs,to raise philosophical questions and try to explain theories which have never been proved. The wall works like a symbol. It is like a nutshell that keeps people away from the truth. Ignorance becomes characters’ rationality. Through a grotesque and surrealistic point of view characters balance between reality and illusion.They become confused and lost in thoughts. There is this character who wants to see and the other who wants to stay blind. What is going to happen to them? What is behind the wall? Will they ever succeed in getting themselves to the other side?

All these questions lead to an inspired educational process which Luke and David have so succesfully created not only for their students but also for all of us who were lucky to watch their performance.

More info about Dave‘n’Luke English Theatre Language

http://davenluke.wordpress.com

By Efi Tzouri

Spread Literature into the World by Georgia Psarra and George Raptopoulos - Report

The idea of this wonderful presentation is as simple as the title: to spread literature into the students’ world.

George Raptopoulos and Georgia Psarra have tried to translate and interpret Greek literature with their students and use it as a tool to teach English.

They have worked with three groups:

The C2 level group consisted of university students. They took an extract from Costas Ouranis’s “Travels to Mt Athos”, translated and evaluated  it.

They did not only translate, but also described how they felt with the images and the emotions, they negotiated the meanings, and chose the right words and phrases using English.

The teacher set the rules, was more of an observer and a guide, while the students did most of the work.

In the end, they presented their work on video. Again, students picked the roles themselves while the teacher was a proofreader of their work.

With the younger groups, they used poems.

With level A1+ (primary school pupils), they used “The Seagull” by Odysseas Elytis. The students did research on Elytis’ life and work. They listened to a song called “Ο γλάρος” by Afroditi Manou. They read the original text and talked about whether they liked it or not. They also made an attempt to translate it. Reading the English version, they tried to find the differences in structures and answer to describe the seagull’s life.

B2 level students worked on Cavafy’s “As much as you can”.

They had to answer questions aiming at deeper meaning:

• Why can’t people have what they want?
• What’s wrong with being part of the mass?

Students worked in pairs or in groups, whereas the teacher again had the role of the facilitator. Students practised all skills, including team work and discussion skills. We were then shown a video with the wonderful work of their students, as a well as a song surprise composed by a student and inspired by “As much as you can”.

By Theodora Papapanagiotou