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<p>There are many different varieties of English all over the world. Around 75 countries use it as an official language.</p>

<p>Then there are regional differences. For example, in the UK, there isn&#39;t just one form of English. People speak English differently in different parts of the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I am from Scotland, so I speak Scottish English (or West Central&nbsp;Scots). In this post, I&#39;ll share some common words and phrases that will help you understand and be understood in Scotland, or around Scottish people.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>What languages do people speak in Scotland?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>The main language in Scotland is English. <a href="https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/census-results/at-a-glance/languages/" target="_blank">Government records show that 98.6% of people in Scotland speak it</a>.</p>

<p>Historically, Gaelic is&nbsp;the traditional language. It&nbsp;used to be spoken all over the country. Now only 0.5% of the population speak it at home&mdash;mostly in the Western Isles and North West Highlands.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Then there&#39;s Scots. Government information shows that 1.1% of people said that they spoke this at home. Though, in my opinion, this number should be much higher. There are many English speakers in Scotland who don&#39;t realize they are speaking Scots.&nbsp;I was one&mdash;until I taught my first &quot;English&quot;&nbsp;class!</p>

<p>The reason for this is that there is a lot of confusion over what&nbsp;Scots language is, what a dialect is (a local version of the language), and what Scottish English is (English with some Scots words and sounds).&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to Scotland.org,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/writing-and-authors/what-is-scots" target="_blank">Scots is a language made up of different dialects from across the country</a>:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Dundonian dialect in Dundee</li>
	<li>Doric dialect in Aberdeenshire</li>
	<li>Edinburgh Scots dialect in&nbsp;Edinburgh</li>
	<li>Glaswegian dialect in Glasgow</li>
</ul>

<p>When I first started teaching, I used a lot of Scottish words and sounds. The students, who spoke excellent global English, didn&#39;t understand me. I quickly learned what was English and what was Scots.&nbsp;</p>

<p>From experience, there are lots of Scottish English speakers who are exactly like me when I started teaching. Don&#39;t be afraid to ask them if they are speaking Scottish or English! This will help them to reflect and rephrase what they&#39;ve said into understandable English (hopefully)!&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Do I need to learn Scottish English?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>No, not really. It would be impossible to learn every different variety of English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you plan to live in Scotland for a while, it will probably be helpful to learn some Scottish words. But if you are just staying for a short holiday, it&#39;s best to use these skills for speaking English anywhere:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Ask for the meaning of words that you don&#39;t know</li>
	<li>Ask people to repeat or say things more slowly</li>
	<li>Rephrase what people have said to check that you have understood them</li>
</ul>

<p>Remember there are two people (or more) in each conversation. They can help you by using their communication skills too.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Be confident: Even proficient language users find Scots English hard</h2>

<p>I have many examples of friends who speak absolutely fantastic English, but&nbsp;find&nbsp;Scottish speakers difficult to understand.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One friend is a doctor from South Africa. He grew up speaking English. When he moved to Scotland, he found that there were lots of words he didn&#39;t understand. He started a vocabulary&nbsp;list on his phone so every time he learned a new word, he made a note of it. That list now has hundreds of words!&nbsp;</p>

<p>Another friend is from Portugal. They use English for work every day. When they met some people I&nbsp;know from Dundee, they were so confused. I&nbsp;had to translate the Dundonian Scottish into general English for them. My Dundonian friends didn&#39;t even realize&nbsp;that they weren&#39;t speaking globally understood English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>So, you are not alone, and it&#39;s not that you don&#39;t understand&mdash;the other speaker might just be unclear!</p>

<h2>Some common differences in Scottish English to help you understand!</h2>

<h3>There&#39;s no &quot;t&quot;&nbsp;in Sco&#39;land!</h3>

<p>Sco&#39;ish people often don&#39;t pronounce the &quot;t&quot;&nbsp;sound. Words like <em>butter</em>, <em>wetter</em>, and&nbsp;<em>better</em> become &quot;bu&#39;er,&quot;&nbsp;&quot;we&#39;er,&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;be&#39;er.&quot;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5484/scoish.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<p>To speak clearly and be easily understood, it&#39;s best to pronounce your consonant sounds. However, it&#39;s good to know you might hear this in Sco&#39;land.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>&quot;How?&quot;&nbsp;can mean &quot;Why?&quot;</h3>

<p>In Scotland, many people will ask you &quot;How?&quot;&nbsp;when they mean &quot;Why?&quot;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>A: I will be&nbsp;late.&nbsp;</p>

<p>B: How?&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>B wants to know the reason<em> why</em> A will be late.&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>Cannae, isnae, wasnae, gonnae</strong></h3>

<p>Instead of &quot;not,&quot;&nbsp;many people in Scotland use &quot;nae.&quot;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5483/Gonnae.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<ul>
	<li>can&#39;t &gt; cannae</li>
	<li>isn&#39;t &gt; isnae</li>
	<li>wasn&#39;t &gt; wasnae</li>
	<li>going to&nbsp;&gt; gonnae</li>
	<li>can you &gt; gonnae</li>
</ul>

<p>&quot;Gonnae&quot; can mean two things. It can mean the future tense &quot;going to.&quot;&nbsp;People also use it to ask someone for help or to do something:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Gonnae clean your room?&quot;&nbsp;= &quot;Can you clean your room?&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h3>Wee = small</h3>

<p>In Scotland, we use &quot;wee&quot;&nbsp;instead of &quot;small&quot; or &quot;little.&quot; For example:&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5482/wee.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<ul>
	<li>Gonnae cut me a wee slice of cake?&nbsp;= Can you cut me a little slice of cake?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>I&#39;m a wee bit tired after that class. = I&#39;m a little tired after that class.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>When I&#39;m with speakers of English from other places, I try not to use Scots words. But I can&#39;t stop saying &quot;wee.&quot;</p>

<p>This can sometimes cause confusion. Once, I was helping my Australian friend&#39;s child at a playground. He wanted to reach but was too small. I said, &quot;You&#39;re too wee.&quot; His reply was &quot;I&#39;m not a wee-wee.&quot; (&quot;I&#39;m not a pee.&quot;)&nbsp;The wee man had a good point!&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Aye = yes&nbsp;</h3>

<p>In Scotland, people say &quot;aye&quot; instead of &quot;yes&quot; or &quot;yeah.&quot; It sounds the same as &quot;eye&quot; the body part, but has a different meaning.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5476/aye.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<blockquote>
<p>A: Would you like a wee cup of tea?</p>

<p>B: Aye!&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<h3>Yous for plural &quot;you&quot;</h3>

<p>In English, &quot;you&quot; can be one person or many people. In my humble Scottish opinion, this can be quite confusing.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In Scotland, we use &#39;you&#39; for one person and &#39;yous&#39; for many. This might sound strange if you haven&#39;t heard it before, but it makes it much clearer who we are talking about. For example:&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5477/yous.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<ul>
	<li>Are you coming to the party? &nbsp;(asking one person if they are coming)</li>
	<li>Are yous coming to the party? (asking two or more people if they are coming)&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h3>But = though</h3>

<p>You might hear a lot of sentences ending with &quot;but.&quot; It is commonly used to contrast meaning.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5478/but.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<ul>
	<li>She said she didnae want to come but.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>He&#39;s friendly, but.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>You might think that the person speaking has forgotten to finish their sentence! They havnae&nbsp;but!</p>

<h3>Bairns vs. weans</h3>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5485/weans.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<p>In West Coast Scots, people use &quot;weans&quot; (pronounced like&nbsp;&quot;wane&quot; or the same sound as&nbsp;&quot;rain&quot;) to talk about children. In the East Coast, people tend to say &quot;bairns&quot; (pronounced like &quot;bear&quot;). You can use this to tell which Scots people speak.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Who&#39;s Ken?&nbsp;</h3>

<p>In some parts of Scotland, you&#39;ll hear the word &quot;ken&quot; a lot. &quot;Ken&quot; means &quot;know&quot; in Eastern Scotland. This can be confusing as it is also a man&#39;s name.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5481/ken.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Do you ken whit I mean?&quot; = &quot;Do you know what I mean?&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;I dinnae ken.&quot; = &quot;I don&#39;t know.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h3>Cheers = thanks</h3>

<p>One of my students once asked me &quot;Why does everyone say &#39;cheese&#39;&nbsp;when I hold a door open for them or do something nice for them?&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>I was confused. &quot;Cheese?&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;Yeah,&quot; the student replied. Then they acted it out.&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Aaaah! Cheers! &#39;Cheers&#39; means &#39;thanks&#39;!&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;Aaaah!&quot; said my student. &quot;Cheers! I ken now!&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;Nae bother,&quot; I replied. Because in Scotland that means &quot;no problem&quot; or &quot;no bother.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h3>Rain</h3>

<p>It rains a lot in Scotland. That&#39;s why we have hunners (hundreds) of words for rain. Here are some:&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5479/rain.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<ul>
	<li>drizzle, smirr, mizzle,&nbsp;Scotch mist =&nbsp;light rain&nbsp;</li>
	<li>pouring doon, tipping it doon, chucking it doon&nbsp;=&nbsp;&nbsp;heavy rain (doon = down)</li>
	<li>dreich = not raining, but the sky is dark, gray, and miserable</li>
	<li>drookit = a great adjective to describe when you are soaking wet (probably because it&#39;s pouring doon)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Taps aff or taps oan</h3>

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/5480/taps-aff.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<p>People in Scotland like to laugh at themselves and the weather. They also get excited when the sun comes out. When the temperature rises over 20&deg;C, some guys like to sit in the park with their tops off&mdash;until their skin burns.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This is why we use the terms&nbsp;&quot;taps aff&quot; and &quot;taps oan&quot;&nbsp;to describe the weather.&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>A &quot;taps aff&quot; (tops off) day is when it is hot enough to enjoy the sunshine with light summer clothing.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>A &quot;taps oan&quot; (tops on) day is a day when it is chucking it doon, drizzly, dreich, or cold enough to wear all your clothes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>If you would like to get your weather this way, check out <a href="https://www.taps-aff.co.uk/" target="_blank">Taps-Aff.co.uk</a>!</p>

<h2>More on Scottish English</h2>

<p>To learn more about Scottish English, search online for films and TV from Scotland. I&#39;d recommend:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Film:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1924394/" target="_blank">The Angel&#39;s Share</a></li>
	<li>Film:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380366/?ref_=fn_t_1" target="_blank">Aye Fond Kiss</a></li>
	<li>Film:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3823098/" target="_blank">Edie</a></li>
	<li>TV: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3006802/" target="_blank">Outlander</a></li>
	<li>TV: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108803/?ref_=fn_i_2" target="_blank">The High Life&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li>TV: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155450/?ref_=fn_i_1" target="_blank">Para Handy</a></li>
</ul>

<p>I&#39;d also recommend <a href="https://thescottishsoundschool.com/watch-and-listen" target="_blank">The Scottish Sound School</a>. You&#39;ll find a lot of videos and other content by language expert Gemma Archer there.&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Have you been to Scotland? Do you have favorite Scots words? What experience do you have of speaking to Scots English speakers? We&#39;d love to know.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>


Essential Scottish for English Language Learners: Common Phrases & Expressions

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<p>Even though English is global, it is spoken differently in many parts of the world. American and British English are probably the most commonly taught in language classrooms. Ellii, for example, is a<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/spelling-variations-in-ellii-materials"> </a>Canadian company, but it offers language learning content in American, Canadian, and British English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Around the world, about 75 countries have English as an officical language. Countries like&nbsp;Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa are the obvious ones. There&#39;s also&nbsp;Nigeria, Singapore, India, Philllipines, and many others.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On a recent trip to Australia, I learned that Scottish English and Australian English have many differences. I had to use my communication skills to help me understand and be understood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It was an excellent reminder that even so-called &quot;native&quot; speakers can misunderstand each other!</p>

<h2>How can we communicate across many different Englishes?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Different countries use different words, pronounce things in different ways, and&nbsp;have different grammar. For example, Scotland and Australia have different words for many things and use&nbsp;different vowel sounds.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In order to be understood, I used my communication skills:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>I slowed down.</li>
	<li>I left&nbsp;spaces between my&nbsp;words.</li>
	<li>I asked people to rephrase or repeat what they said.</li>
	<li>I asked questions to check I&nbsp;(and they) understood.</li>
	<li>I tried using different words or saying things in different ways.</li>
	<li>I pronounced consonsant sounds clearly and changed the vowel sounds in some of my words.</li>
	<li>I avoided using Scottish words and learned some Australian ones to use instead.</li>
</ul>

<p>In this blog post, I want to tell the world that we<strong> all</strong> have to change how we communicate&nbsp;in order to be understood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I also want to tell language learners that even people who speak English very well can misunderstand each other.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And I want to share some Australian English that helped me understand the people&nbsp;I met. I still speak English my own way, but I do occasionally use some of these words to be understood.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Australians shorten words with &quot;y&quot; or &quot;o&quot;&nbsp;</h2>

<p>In Australia, people like to shorten words. They do this by adding &quot;o&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;y/ie/ies.&quot; They do this even with friends&#39; names. For example:&nbsp;</p>

<h3>-y/ie/ies:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Mel (popular girl&#39;s name) &gt; Melly</li>
	<li>Australian &gt; Aussie</li>
	<li>volunteer &gt; vollie</li>
	<li>schnitzel (popular dish of crumbed meat) &gt; schnitie</li>
	<li>parmigiana (schnitzel topping of ham and tomato sauce) &gt; parmi</li>
</ul>

<h3>o:&nbsp;</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Damien &gt; Damo&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Dave &gt; Davo</li>
	<li>service station &nbsp;&gt; servo&nbsp;(US: gas station, UK: petrol station)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Heaps</h2>

<p>In Australia, it is more common to say &quot;heaps&quot; instead of &quot;lots&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;loads.&quot; For example:&nbsp;</p>

<p>A: How many lollies are there?&nbsp;</p>

<p>B: There are heaps of lollies.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Lollies are not lollipops!</h2>

<p>In the UK, lollies come on a stick. Most commonly, they are a boiled sweet on a paper stick, but they may also be frozen &quot;ice lollies&quot;&nbsp;on a wooden stick.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In Australia, lollies are any sweet (or candy, if you use American English)&mdash;boiled, chewy, on a stick, or in a wrapper. If it&#39;s made with <em>heaps</em> of sugar, it&#39;s a lolly!</p>

<p>My nephews and nieces introduced me to the idea of a &quot;long way lolly.&quot; In the&nbsp;UK, this would be a &quot;car sweet.&quot;&nbsp;I&#39;m not sure if this phrase is used across Australia&nbsp;or just by nephews and nieces to make their auntie buy them sweets! Either way, we were driving a long way, so we bought heaps of lollies to keep us going!</p>

<h2>How you going?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>This greeting was perhaps what surprised me the most about Australian English. Instead of asking &quot;How are you?,&quot; &quot;How are you doing?,&quot; or &quot;How&#39;s things?,&quot; Aussies will say &quot;How you going?&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The answers remain the same. &quot;Good,&quot; &quot;Well,&quot; &quot;Alright.&quot; Much like in British English, no one really wants to hear a long answer or a sad, negative reply!&nbsp;</p>

<h2>G&#39;day, mate!</h2>

<p>To say &quot;hello&quot;&nbsp;to someone, Aussies often use &quot;hi,&quot; &quot;hey,&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;How you going?,&quot;&nbsp;but they&#39;ll also use the more stereotypically Aussie &quot;G&#39;day, mate!,&quot; shortened from &quot;Good day, mate!&quot;</p>

<p>Many of the people who said &quot;G&#39;day, mate!&quot;&nbsp;to me had never met me before. In Australia, &quot;mate&quot;&nbsp;is a friendly greeting as much as it means &quot;friends.&quot;</p>

<p>Hearing this reminded me a lot of Scotland. We like to say &quot;Alright, pal!&quot; to people we have never met before.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Other random words</h2>

<p>I could write&nbsp;forever about the words and phrases I&#39;ve learned in Australia. But I need to stop and start summarizing somewhere.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some more interesting differences:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>fairy floss (Aus) - cotton candy (US) - candy floss (UK)</li>
	<li>paddock (Aus) - field (US/UK)</li>
	<li>thongs (Aus) - flip-flops (US/UK)</li>
	<li>op shop:&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;shop&nbsp;(Aus) - thrift store (US) - charity shop (UK)</li>
	<li>gum tree (Aus) - eucalyptus tree (US &amp; UK)</li>
	<li>rug (Aus) - blanket (UK)</li>
	<li>pathway (Aus) - pavement (UK) - sidewalk (US)</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>What experience do you have with Australian English or other Englishes? We&#39;d love to know. Please share your experiences with us so we can learn more!</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here are some other posts, lessons, and collections&nbsp;that we think you&#39;ll like:&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-belongs-to-everyone-here-s-how-to-own-your-english">English Belongs to Everyone: Here&#39;s How to Own Your English!</a></p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/1889">Australia Day</a></p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/2601">Kangaroos</a></p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/nations-regions/oceania">Oceania</a></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Australian English for ESL Learners: Common Phrases & Expressions for Clear Communication

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<p>When it comes to language learning, confidence is everything. Some&nbsp;learners may have varied&nbsp;vocabularies, understand complex grammar, and know what they want to say.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But when it comes to speaking&nbsp;in front of others, they may stumble. They may question themselves, get overwhelmed, and put too much pressure on perfection.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this blog post, we&#39;ll explore ways to encourage student participation in full-class discussions while providing support&nbsp;so they gain confidence using their English.</p>

<h2>1. Create an encouraging classroom atmosphere</h2>

<p>For learners to feel confident, the classroom has to feel like a safe space. This means building trust and fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect and support.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On the first day of class, do some activities to help students get to know each other. For example, have them share an interesting fact about themselves or their main reason for learning English. Start simple, based on the level of the class, so that learners can feel confident using the language that they have.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could also have them collaborate to create posters on positive classroom behaviors, such as switching off mobile phones and being kind and respectful.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For more ideas for icebreakers and building a positive classroom atmosphere, check out&nbsp;this blog post by Tanya Trusler on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-make-students-feel-comfortable-in-your-class">Ways&nbsp;to Make Students Feel Comfortable in Class</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>2.&nbsp;Allow thinking &amp; planning time</h2>

<p>Students are more likely to feel confident&nbsp;speaking up if they have had time to think, plan, and prepare. Make sure to give a sufficient pause after&nbsp;asking questions. You could even set a prescribed amount of thinking time.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Teacher:</strong> What did you do over the weekend? Think about this for one minute. Then answer.&nbsp;</p>

<p>[pause]</p>

<p><strong>Student 1:</strong> I went to the mall and met my friends.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Before speaking activities, give students time to write down what they want to say. Encourage&nbsp;them to think of useful words and phrases, or perhaps even write their own script. This will make them more accurate and fluent when it comes to using their voice in larger groups.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>3. Try the think-pair-share method</h2>

<p>The think-pair-share<em> </em>method is one common way to give students thinking time and increase their&nbsp;confidence. First, set the question or task and give students time to think about their answers. Allow them to take notes as required.</p>

<p>Then have students discuss their ideas with a partner. This gives&nbsp;students&nbsp;a chance to check that their ideas are correct or relevant and supports them with their language choices.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Finally, have students share their ideas with the whole class. The previous step will have reassured them that their ideas are valid and, therefore, they will be more likely to share.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>4. Implement the 2, 4, 6, 8+ presentation method</h2>

<p>Speaking in public can be scary&nbsp;in any language. Some learners will find this challenging even in their first language.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One way I&#39;ve always found helpful in building confidence is to allow students to&nbsp;practice with peers while&nbsp;slowly increasing the size of their audience.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This 2, 4, 6, 8+ method lets students say the same one-minute presentation multiple times to a gradually larger audience. Students benefit through repetition and reflection. By the time they deliver&nbsp;the same presentation in front of the whole class, they&#39;ve nailed it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>First, give them the topic for a one-minute presentation&nbsp;and let them make notes by themselves.&nbsp;Then have them present their ideas in pairs. Encourage learners to give each other feedback and make tweaks. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Once they are ready to present again, have students work in groups of four, delivering their one-minute presentation to three people. Again, have them give feedback to each other and review and revise their mini talk.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Then&nbsp;increase the group size to six so they are delivering the same presentation for the third time, but to five people.</p>

<p>Continue by increasing the group size until they are confident with their content and delivery. Hopefully, all the practice will give them a huge boost in confidence to speak in front of the whole class.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>5. Give positive feedback</h2>

<p>Finally, increase learners&#39; confidence by giving them encouraging and supportive feedback. Praise and a warm smile can go a long way.&nbsp;</p>

<p>When learners&nbsp;make mistakes, use the mistakes as learning opportunities and celebrate students&#39; attempts. Each time students use English, they can learn something from it. (You may find this post useful:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/low-prep-high-impact-feedback-strategies">High-Impact Feedback Strategies</a>.)&nbsp;</p>

<p>You may also want to do this fun activity to help them become more aware of their self-talk. It helps them identify&nbsp;negative thoughts and reframe them as positive:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being">Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel</a>.</p>

<p>Michelle Worgan has done a lot of work on supporting introverted learners. I highly recommend this blog post too:&nbsp;<a href="https://michelleworgan.com/introverted-students/ " target="_blank">How to Make Your Classroom Introvert Ready</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>How do you encourage quiet learners to speak in class? What are your top tips? Have you tried any of these methods? We&#39;d love to know your thoughts and ideas.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>


Taking the Fear out of Full-Class Discussions: Boosting Quiet Learners' Confidence to Speak

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<p>When you take notes in class, you listen more carefully and think about what you learn. Your notes can help you study, revise, and remember information after class. That&#39;s why it is a good idea to spend some time re-writing your notes and making them clearer. When you do this, you think about the most important parts of the lesson. This helps you understand and remember more.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2024/7/18-1" target="_blank">Research shows</a> that taking notes by hand is better for learning than typing notes on a laptop. This is because your body uses more of its senses to write with a pen&mdash;your arm and fingers move, your eyes see the marks on the paper, you might even hear or smell the pen. Handwriting also lets you add lines, drawings, colors, or highlights to add meaning.</p>

<p>Another thing you can do with stationery is create little drawings to help you remember. For example, lots of people find it difficult to remember the difference between <em>stationary</em> (not moving) and <em>stationery</em> (pens, pencils, paper, etc).</p>

<p>Here&#39;s a little drawing I did to help me remember. Parked cars are stationAry and pens are stationEry!</p>

<p><img alt="drawing of stationery/ary" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5185/content_stationary-stationery.png" /></p>

<p>In this blog post, I&#39;ll share some of my favorite stationery for note-taking.</p>

<h2>1. Pencils</h2>

<p>Pencils are so simple and so useful. You can erase them easily and they come in lots of different colors. Some of them don&#39;t even need a pencil sharpener&mdash;like these mechanical pencils:</p>

<p><img alt="mechanical pencils" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5186/content_Rotating-Mechanical-Pencil.png" /></p>

<h2>2. Erasable Pens</h2>

<p>Taking notes with a pen can end in messy mistakes. While errors are one of the best ways to learn, I still prefer to review notes that are tidy and look good. Erasable pens let you change&nbsp;examples and other important parts of your notes.</p>

<p>I love Pilot Frixion pens because they come in lots of different colors. You can also buy refills for them, so they can last forever and you can use less plastic!</p>

<p><img alt="pilot frixon pens" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5187/content_Pilot-Frixion-Colored-Pens.png" /></p>

<p>They even have highlighters so you can color code your notes easily.</p>

<p><img alt="pilot frixon highlighters" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5188/content_Pilot-Frixon-Pen-Highlighter.png" /></p>

<h2>3. Neuland Refillable Pens</h2>

<p>Neuland makes lots of cool pens. I love them because they are very high quality and you can refill them. Their FineOne Sketch has a lovely fineliner-style tip, which is perfect for handwriting. The FineOne Flex is wider and more like a felt-tip style pen, so it&#39;s great for thicker lines. The FineOne Art&nbsp;has a brush tip, which is great for highlighting or making more creative marks.</p>

<p><img alt="Neuland photo" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5189/content_Neuland-Pens.png" /></p>

<p>Neuland also makes refillable flip-chart and whiteboard markers in lots of different colors.</p>

<h2>4. Fineliners</h2>

<p>Fineliners are a style of pen that has a very fine&nbsp;(or thin) tip. They make your handwriting clear and sharp. I love these Bic ones because they come in lots of colors.</p>

<p><img alt="bic fineliner pens" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5190/content_Bic-Fineliner.png" /></p>

<h2>5. Multicolored pens</h2>

<p>I like to have lots of color choices in my pencil case, but I don&#39;t always have enough space. These pens let you choose. I prefer small pens like this because I can write better with them. The larger ones with more color choices can be harder to write.</p>

<p><img alt="multi-choice color pens" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5191/content_Bic-MultiColor.png" /></p>

<p>What is your stationery of choice? Do you have any favorites? How do you like to take notes? We&#39;d love to know.</p>

<p>You may also like these blog posts:</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/sketchnoting-101-supercharged-professional-development-with-visual-notes">Sketchnoting 101</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/six-ways-to-use-journaling-to-learn-english-fast">6 Ways to Use Journaling to Learn English Fast</a></li>
</ul>


The Best Stationery for Learning English & Taking Notes

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<p>Every year, major dictionaries and language organizations announce their <b>Word of the Year (WOTY)</b> in December or January. The winning word is often a term that captures something essential about how we used language over the past 12 months. Sometimes the choice is obvious (e.g., <i>pandemic</i> in 2020), while other choices reflect deeper cultural and linguistic shifts.</p>

<p>And every January, editor Mark Allen hosts a discussion about the WOTY in his webinar called <em><a href="https://www.thatwordchat.com/" target="_blank">That Word Chat</a></em>,&nbsp;where he invites experts from dictionaries and other major publishers to explain their choices.</p>

<p>What made 2025&nbsp;especially interesting is that many dictionaries and language experts gravitated toward the same idea (and even the same word in some cases). The&nbsp;recurring theme that emerged in 2025 was <strong>our growing discomfort with low-quality information, online manipulation, and questions of authenticity in the age of AI</strong>.</p>

<p>Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of the most talked-about WOTY contenders and winners this year&nbsp;and what they can teach us (and our students) about modern English.</p>

<h2>Slop</h2>

<p>The word <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year" target="_blank"><strong>slop</strong></a>&nbsp;was chosen as the 2025 WOTY by no fewer than four publications (<em>Merriam-Webster</em>, the <em>American Dialect Society</em>, the&nbsp;<em>Economist</em> magazine, and Australia&rsquo;s <em>Macquarie Dictionary</em>). According to Peter Sokolowski (<i>Merriam-Webster</i>), <strong>slop</strong> saw a huge increase in lookups&mdash;not for its traditional meaning (waste or animal feed), but for its new sense:</p>

<blockquote><strong>slop: </strong>low-quality, mass-produced content flooding the internet, often generated by AI</blockquote>

<p><b>Reasons why it was chosen:</b></p>

<ul>
	<li>It reflects distrust of online information.</li>
	<li>It joins words like <i>gaslighting</i>, <i>catfishing</i>, <i>trolling</i>, and <i>deepfake</i>.</li>
	<li>It highlights how much we value authenticity&mdash;perhaps more than ever.</li>
</ul>

<p>As Ben Zimmer (<i>American Dialect Society</i>) pointed out, <strong>slop</strong> has become so prominent that people no longer need to say the original, longer version, which was&nbsp;<strong>AI slop.</strong><i>&nbsp;</i>We even hear <strong>slop</strong> expanding to other areas, such as&nbsp;<i>work slop </i>and<i>&nbsp;friend slop.</i></p>

<h2>Rage bait</h2>

<p><em>Oxford Languages</em>&rsquo; WOTY for 2025&nbsp;is&nbsp;<a href="https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/" target="_blank"><b>rage bait</b></a>.&nbsp;Unlike most other dictionaries, which choose their WOTY based on the number of lookups, <em>Oxford</em> chooses theirs based on the corpus data (i.e., tracking which words show the biggest year-over-year growth in real usage).</p>

<blockquote><strong>rage bait: </strong>content deliberately designed to provoke anger or outrage, especially online, in order to drive engagement, clicks, or shares</blockquote>

<p>According to Fiona McPherson (<i>Oxford English Dictionary</i>), <strong>rage bait</strong> has narrowed to describe online manipulation&mdash;not real-life situations such as&nbsp;<em>road rage</em>.&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Reasons why it was chosen:</b></p>

<ul>
	<li>It reflects increased awareness that our emotions are being exploited online.</li>
	<li>It follows a productive pattern (<i>clickbait, love bait, Oscar bait</i>).</li>
	<li>It also won Oxford&rsquo;s public vote by a wide margin.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Other notable Words of the Year</h2>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/articles/word-of-the-year-2025" target="_blank"><b>67</b></a>&nbsp;(<em>Dictonary.com</em>; also spelled 6-7 or 6 7):&nbsp;so-so, this or that, maybe (though some people argue it has no meaning at all and is simply a phrase that youth use to confuse and frustrate adults)</li>
	<li><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/editorial/word-of-the-year" target="_blank"><b>parasocial</b></a>&nbsp;(<em>Cambridge</em>): a one-sided relationship in which a person feels emotionally connected to a public figure or&nbsp;influencer who does not know them personally</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/woty" target="_blank"><b>vibe coding</b></a>&nbsp;(<em>Collins</em>): an informal approach to programming where developers describe&nbsp;desired outcomes instead of writing detailed instructions, and then rely on AI to generate the code</li>
	<li><a href="https://corp.oup.com/news/brain-rot-named-oxford-word-of-the-year-2024/" target="_blank"><b>brain rot</b></a>&nbsp;(<em>Oxford</em>&#39;s WOTY in 2024; <em>American Dialect Society</em>&#39;s runner-up in 2025):&nbsp;the mental fatigue, reduced attention, or sense of cognitive decline caused by prolonged exposure to low-quality, repetitive, or overwhelming digital content</li>
</ul>

<h2>Words as time capsules</h2>

<p>As Ben Zimmer (<i>American Dialect Society</i>) reminded us in his closing remarks, Words of the Year act as linguistic time capsules. Sometimes they capture a single global event (e.g.,&nbsp;<i>COVID</i>). Other times, they reveal subtler shifts, such as changing attitudes toward truth, trust, and technology.</p>

<p>Several speakers noted a relative lack of political WOTY choices for 2025, which itself says something about how cultural anxiety is being expressed more through technology and media language than traditional politics.</p>

<h2>WOTY in the classroom</h2>

<p>For English teachers, WOTY discussions are a powerful classroom tool in the following ways:</p>

<ul>
	<li>They show students that English is alive and evolving.</li>
	<li>They encourage critical thinking about media literacy.</li>
	<li>They open conversations about tone, connotation, and register.</li>
	<li>They highlight how culture shapes vocabulary.</li>
</ul>

<p>Whether you explore <i>slop</i>, <i>rage bait</i>, or another contender with your students, one thing is clear: <b>the language of 2025 reflected a world questioning what&mdash;and who&mdash;to trust online</b>.</p>


Words of the Year 2025

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<h2>What will 2026 have in store for the world of English Language Teaching?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>For the last few years, Ellii has tasked me with making predictions for the ELT trends of the coming year. Sadly, my mystic powers remain undeveloped, so I seek the assistance of esteemed&nbsp;experts online.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This year, I was astounded by the response. It has taken me some messy mind mapping and some AI assistance to pull together the top trends and wishes for the year ahead.</p>

<p><img alt="Emily Bryson's mind map about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5135/content_Emily_Bryson_Messy_MindMap.jpeg" /></p>

<p>Here goes! Let&#39;s start with the trends.</p>

<h2><b>What&#39;s hot in ELT in 2026</b></h2>

<h3><strong>1. Human connections</strong></h3>

<p>Overwhelmingly, human connections wins the gold medal. This could be a push back&nbsp;against the increasing prevalance of artificial intelligence. Many practitioners shared their concerns over the growing isolation learners and teachers experience and how to recapture the social connections within&nbsp;the language classroom.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Katherine Bilsborough quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5136/content_Katherine_Bilsborough_Human_Connection.png" /></p>

<p>There was a lot of discussion around &quot;back-to-basics&quot; approaches such as dogme, projects, games, picture books, visuals thinking, and graphic novels.&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>2. Artificial intelligence</strong></h3>

<p>Unsurprisingly, AI is still riding high. Perhaps human connection wouldn&#39;t be at the forefront of so many practitioners&#39; minds without it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sue Leather shared her worrying reflections that ELT materials developers are finding it more difficult to find projects, as more publishers move towards AI-generated content.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Sue Leather quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5137/content_Sue_Leather_Agile_Writers_and_AI.png" /></p>

<p>From a classroom perspective, particular concerns were raised around safeguarding, responsible use, and the erosion of <em>need</em> to learn English.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Dr. Steve Brown quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5138/content_Dr_Steve_Brown_Learning_Avoidance_AI.png" /></p>

<p><img alt="Jen Dobson quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5139/content_Jen_Dobson_AI_safeguarding.png" /></p>

<p><img alt="Stephen Farren quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5140/content_Stephen_Farren_AI_Soft_Skills.png" /></p>

<p>If you&#39;d like some ideas to support your learners to use AI responsibly, check out these blog posts:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-prevent-students-cheating-with-ai">How to Prevent Students Cheating with AI</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/developing-learner-autonomy-with-ai">Developing Learner Autonomy with AI</a></li>
</ul>

<h3><strong>3. Teacherpreneurship</strong></h3>

<p>As technology becomes more affordable and accessible, more teachers are finding ways to boost their income, diversify their skills, and set themselves up as entrepreneurs.</p>

<p>Business coaches such as Rachael Roberts and Ola Kowalska are noticing more confidence with marketing and more individualized offers.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Ola Kowalska quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5141/content_Ola_Kowalska.png" /></p>

<p><img alt="Rachael Roberts" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5142/content_Rachael_Roberts__1_.png" /></p>

<p>This is good news for students, who can benefit from learning experiences that are truly tailored to their needs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you&#39;d like to know about teacherpreneurship, you may like these posts:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-make-passive-income-as-a-teacher">5 Ways to Earn &quot;Passive&quot; Income as a Teacher</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teacherpreneur">How to Be a Teacherpreneur</a></li>
</ul>

<p>You may also want to check out <a href="https://ellii.com/indieteacher">Ellii for Independent Teachers</a>, which is the perfect platform to use with private classes.&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>4. Trauma awareness &amp; social emotional learning</strong></h3>

<p>Multiple ELTers mentioned the need for language teaching to be well-being&nbsp;focused and trauma aware. As Stephen Farren said, we have to have an &quot;understanding that &#39;trauma&#39;&nbsp;doesn&#39;t come from a specific part of the world.&quot;</p>

<p>Social justice, advocacy, and the ESOL classroom as an opportunity to support learner emancipation were key themes under this umbrella.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Penelope Roux had this to add about self-reflection, self-awareness, and self-esteem:</p>

<p><img alt="Penelope Roux quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5143/content_Penelope_Roux_Self_Reflection_awarenes_esteem.png" /></p>

<p>Here are a couple of posts on this theme:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/support-english-learners-from-refugee-backgrounds">6 Ways to Support Learners from Refugee Backgrounds</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/social-emotional-learning">A Quick Guide to Social Emotional Learning</a></li>
</ul>

<h3><strong>5. Soft skills (aka life skills)</strong></h3>

<p>&quot;Future Ready&quot; is likely to remain popular this year. These are skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and digital skills. They are skills that are essential in order to be successful in the classroom and workplace.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Check out these posts on the topic:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/top-tips-for-incorporating-life-skills-into-your-classroom">6 Tips for Incorporating Life Skills into Your Classroom</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-teach-workplace-english">How to Teach Workplace English</a></li>
</ul>

<h2><strong>Wishes</strong></h2>

<p>As the discussions developed, people started to notice distinctions between trends that they could see happening vs. things they wished would happen.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are things that we would like to ask the ELT fairy godmother to bring in 2026.&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>1. Global issues</strong></h3>

<p>In many coursebooks and language, PARSNIPs&nbsp;are erased. These are:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Politics</li>
	<li>Alcohol</li>
	<li>Religion</li>
	<li>Sex</li>
	<li>Narcotics</li>
	<li>Isms (e.g., racism, sexim, feminism)</li>
	<li>Pork</li>
</ul>

<p>The reasons from this often stem from trying to create &quot;one-size-fits-all&quot; courses as well as avoiding arguments or triggering topics in class.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, many students and practitioners feel strongly that these topics should be a key part of the classroom. Teachers and students have the power to be changemakers.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Huma Hasna Riaz Ahmed" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5144/content_Huma_Riaz_Global_Issues.png" /></p>

<p>The Ellii resource&nbsp;bank is full of lessons with global topics. This blog post will get you started:&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/making-the-world-a-better-place-the-power-of-teachers-and-learners-as-changemakers">Teachers &amp; Learners as Changemakers</a></p>

<h3><strong>2. Sustainable ELT</strong></h3>

<p>The English language classroom can be a vehicle for direct action when it comes to environmental topics. Practitioners hope to see more of this in the coming here.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Christopher Graham quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5145/content_Christopher_Graham_Sustainability.png" /></p>

<p>Here is a post with ideas on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/46-greening-the-elt-classroom-tips-teaching-ideas">Greening the ELT Classroom</a>.</p>

<h3><strong>3. Slow learning</strong></h3>

<p>Jane Carvell shared a wonderful idea inspired by the Slow Food Movement. It captured my imagination, especially with the growing&nbsp;desire for human connection. The &quot;slow&quot; approach focuses on removing the pressure from learning and going at a pace that allows learners to make connections, ask questions, and prioritize deep learning.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Jane Carvell quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5146/content_Jane_Carvell.png" /></p>

<h3><strong>4. Extensive reading</strong></h3>

<p>Perhaps another&nbsp;throwback to the &quot;back to basics&quot; and &quot;human connections&quot;&nbsp;that underpin this year&#39;s predictions relates to the essential skill of reading. Lots of practioners mentioned the joy of storybooks, picture books, graphic novels, and extensive reading in class.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can read Sue Leather&#39;s post about it here:&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sueleather_reading-extensivereading-activity-7403905458849144832-HQe6/">Sue Leather: The Benefits of Reading for Pleasure</a></p>

<p>Here are some reading recommendations for your learners:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-for-advanced-students">Advanced</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-high-intermediate-students">High Intermediate</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-for-your-low-int-students">Low Intermediate</a></li>
</ul>

<h3><strong>5. Visual thinking</strong></h3>

<p>Graphic organizers, visual tools, infographics,&nbsp;images, and doodles&nbsp;are a great way to simplify complex information and aid understanding. In recent years, graphic facilitation techniques&nbsp;have&nbsp;become&nbsp;more popular. Perhaps because they&nbsp;are a great &quot;back-to-basics&quot; approach that boosts human connections.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Fernanda Freytes quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5147/content_Fernanda_Freytes.png" /></p>

<p>This year, the&nbsp;<a href="https://sketchnote.school/wsw26/">World Sketchnote Week Conference</a>&nbsp;that takes place from&nbsp;&nbsp;January&nbsp;12 to January 16 has&nbsp;two whole days devoted to education, with many language-teaching-focused sessions. Check it out, and come see me share some of my ideas to add sparkle to your lessons with sketchnotes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can find more on this topic here:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/sketchnoting-101-supercharged-professional-development-with-visual-notes">Sketchnoting 101</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/graphic-facilitation-101">Graphic Facilitation 101</a></li>
</ul>

<p>So, what do you reckon?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>What will 2026 have in store for English language classrooms around the world? What are your wishes for the year ahead? We&#39;d love to know your thoughts.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If you&#39;d like to read the comments on my LinkedIn&nbsp;post, or add your own, here is the original post:&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brysonemily_elt-trends-to-watch-in-2025-activity-7402626392011722752-32iJ?utm_source=social_share_send&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop_web&amp;rcm=ACoAAAi7ip0BCqZAlTHCFG8wTwULtYB8nWVFeUM">Emily Bryson&#39;s 2026 Trends in ELT LinkedIn post</a></p>

<p>Here are links to my trends posts from previous years:</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elt-trends-to-watch-in-2025">ELT Trends 2025</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elt-trends-to-watch-in-2024">ELT Trends 2024</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/6-english-language-teaching-trends-in-2023">ELT Trends 2023</a></li>
</ul>

<p>Wishing you all the best for 2026!</p>


Trends & Wishes in English Language Teaching: 2026

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<p>Autonomous, self-directed, or independent learners have the academic and life skills required to take control of their own learning journeys. They can fast-track their language learning through self-study, seeking out learning opportunities, and using effective learning strategies.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In my previous blog post on independent learning, I looked at <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-self-directed-learning-transforming-the-elt-classroom-with-independence"><strong>5 Benefits of Encouraging Learner Autonomy</strong></a>. In this post, I will cover some practical ways to do this.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>1. Explore learning strategies</h3>

<p>Every learner is different, so what works for one may be less effective for another. Some learners may feel the need to write up notes straight after class, while others may prefer to watch videos or do activities with a similar theme.</p>

<p>Give&nbsp;students the opportunity to share learning strategies with their classmates. This can help them to find out&nbsp;what works for them and to&nbsp;understand that everyone learns differently. It also lets them&nbsp;take inspiration and guidance from their peers and discover new learning techniques.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For a simple and creative classroom idea for how to do this, check out the <strong>container activity</strong>&nbsp;in this blog post:&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/learning-that-sticks-the-power-of-post-its-in-the-elt-classroom">Learning That Sticks: The Power of Post-its in the ELT Classroom&nbsp;</a></p>

<h3>2. Encourage problem-solving</h3>

<p>Students who haven&#39;t developed the ability to work autonomously&nbsp;can often be full of excuses. For example, they may claim that they didn&#39;t know what the homework was, that they didn&#39;t have the right worksheet, or that they couldn&#39;t log in.&nbsp;</p>

<p>These are all valid excuses in certain contexts. However, it is the student&#39;s responsibility to find out what the homework is, to make sure they have the right worksheet, and to find a way to log in.&nbsp;</p>

<p>We have to help students see excuses as problems to be solved. One way to do this is to write common excuses on the board and have them discuss&nbsp;solutions.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Problem</strong>: &quot;I didn&#39;t know we had homework.&quot;</p>

<p><strong>Solution</strong>: Ask another student, keep a diary of the homework, or check emails, notes, or the learning platform.</p>

<p><strong>Problem</strong>: &quot;I didn&#39;t have the right worksheet.&quot;</p>

<p><strong>Solution</strong>: Keep homework tasks in a separate folder, ask a friend, identify&nbsp;the homework worksheet with a post-it or a star, take a photo of someone else&#39;s, and complete it in their notebook.</p>

<p><strong>Problem</strong>: &quot;I&nbsp;couldn&#39;t log in.&quot;</p>

<p><strong>Solutions</strong>: Ask the IT team,&nbsp;another student, or a friend for help. Follow the password reset functions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Getting students into the habit of finding their own solutions before asking for help promotes resourcefulness and stops them from relying on you more than necessary.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>3. Use learning journals</h3>

<p>Learning journals can help students keep track of their learning. They can use them to jot down homework tasks, class schedules, topics covered, and upcoming themes. They can also use them&nbsp;to reflect on progress so far.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Learning journals are a great way to help students get organized, assess their own learning, and track their distance traveled.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>4. Set goals</h3>

<p>Setting goals lets learners consider where they want to be and how they are going to get there. It gives them direction and an attainable target to work towards and motivate them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some posts on the topic:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/creative-ways-to-set-personal-academic-goals-with-students">Creative Ways to Set Personal &amp; Academic Goals with Students</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/4-goals-to-help-you-focus">Struggling to Focus? 4 Types of Goals to Get Your Language Learning Back on Track</a> (for students)</li>
</ul>

<p>Here are some&nbsp;Ellii resources on the topic:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Discussion Starters:&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5541-goal-setting" target="_blank">Goal-Setting</a>&nbsp;(Adv)</li>
	<li>Discussion Starters: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5543-goal-setting" target="_blank">Goal-Setting</a> (Low Int)</li>
	<li>Discussion Starters: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5657-grit">Grit</a>&nbsp;(High Int &ndash; Adv)</li>
	<li>Discussion Starters: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5439-growth-mindset">Growth Mindset </a>(Adv)</li>
	<li>Grammar Stories: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4421-more-simple-future-stories">More Simple Future Stories</a> (Goals)</li>
	<li>Student Reflection:&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2224-goal-setting-can-do">Goal-Setting</a>&nbsp;(Can Do)</li>
</ul>

<h3>5. Use self &amp; peer assessment</h3>

<p>Why spend hours on grading when you can give students the answer key or rubric and have them correct their work themselves? This way they can get into the habit of assessing their own progress in their own time and learning from their mistakes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Of course, this is simpler for activities with clear-cut answers (e.g., yes/no, true/false, multiple-choice)&nbsp;than for written or spoken work.</p>

<p>However,&nbsp;it is also good to have students get into a routine of checking their productive work against a checklist before they submit.</p>

<p>For example, have them check:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Did they answer the question?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Have they used the right punctuation?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Is the word count suitable?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Have they used the language they are focusing on (e.g., sequence words, phrases for introducing opinions)</li>
	<li>How is the spelling?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>For extra support, you can have them check each other&#39;s work in groups or pairs. That way, they can learn from each other and give feedback and support.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h3>6. Try project-, task- &amp; inquiry-based learning</h3>

<p>Project-, task-, and inquiry-based learning are great ways to help students explore topics in more depth. They can develop their research, collaborative, and presentation skills too.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Check out these posts for more:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/takeaways-from-tesol-2022-project-based-learning">10 Tips for Successful Project-Based Learning</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/task-based-learning">Task-Based Learning: An Introductory Guide</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/inquiry-based-learning-a-quick-guide-of-elt-professionals">Inquiry-Based Learning: A Quick Guide for ELT Professionals</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>7. Give them choices</h3>

<p>It can be tiring choosing learning topics that will interest our learners. Giving them a choice lets them decide for themselves. You could set aside time in class where students can pick their own activity.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>read a book</li>
	<li>research something online</li>
	<li>create a poster</li>
	<li>make a video</li>
	<li>write a blog</li>
</ul>

<p>This way, they can choose a mode of learning that works for them and a motivating subject that interests them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On Ellii, you can use the built-in feature called <strong>Student Picks</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eSi7E0R3b4I?si=nbcUwXPOnHAaioAE" width="640"></iframe></div>

<p>Our comprehensive self-study platform, <a href="https://ellii.com/solo">Ellii Solo</a>,&nbsp;lets students choose from a full library of courses, study packs, and videos, as well as studying vocabulary at their own pace. The content helps students target specific skills and reach their language learning goals faster.</p>

<p>For more on the topic of self-directed learning, check out my previous posts:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-self-directed-learning-transforming-the-elt-classroom-with-independence">5 Benefits of Encouraging Learner Autonomy</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-supercharge-your-students-study-skills">5 Ways to Supercharge your Students&#39; Study Skills</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/developing-learner-autonomy-with-ai">Developing Learner Autonomy with AI</a></li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>How do you encourage learner autonomy in your classroom? We&#39;d love to hear which tips and tricks have worked for you! Let us know in the comments.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Self-Directed Learning: 7 Ways to Develop Learner Autonomy in the ELT Classroom

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<p>Self-directed learning is the key to long-term academic success. It empowers students to personalize their learning journeys, think critically, solve problems, and ultimately take control of their language learning.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this post, I will explore some of the benefits of developing learner autonomy. In short, it answers&nbsp;<em>why</em> autonomous learning is so powerful.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For more, check out my post on&nbsp;<em>how </em>to support learners students to become independent learners:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-ways-to-develop-learner-autonomy-in-the-elt-classroom">7 Ways to Develop Learner Autonomy in the ELT Classroom</a></p>

<h2>What is self-directed learning?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Self-directed learning is&nbsp;a bottom-up approach that puts students at the center, controlling their own academic success.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A self-directed learner can manage their time, set their own goals, and find their own ways to achieve them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>These are the students who complete their homework, write up their notes, and actively seek additional&nbsp;practice for their language skills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They have developed the study skills to put them on the&nbsp;fast track to success.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>What are the benefits of self-directed learning?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>There are many advantages to promoting learner independence.&nbsp;Let&#39;s look at a few.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>1. Independent learners are self-motivated</h3>

<p>When learners know what they want&nbsp;and choose how they learn, they are motivated. This self-motivation compels them to log in to learning portals, repeat tricky tasks, learn from their mistakes, and&nbsp;reflect on what works for them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This self-motivation can make them lifelong learners, seeking out ways to try new things and master new skills.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>2. Independent learners have transferrable skills</h3>

<p>The ability to take the initiative and complete challenging tasks independently is essential in the workplace. Employers actively seek to recruit people who are creative, can think critically, and have strong digital skills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Learners who can do this in the language learning context can transfer these skills into further and higher education as well as&nbsp;nab themselves meaningful employment.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>3. Independent learners are determined</h3>

<p>When something gets too difficult, it can be very easy to give up. Learners who haven&#39;t yet developed their ability to learn autonomously may get put off by even the smallest obstacle&mdash;a forgotten login, a lost document, or an overwhelming liguistic concept. They will likely be dependent on you to get them back on track.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, nothing stops an independent learner. They will find a way to reset their own login, find the document, and understand that tricky language point.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>4. Independent learners reduce teacher workload</h3>

<p data-end="436" data-start="271">Teachers are busy, and sharing our time equally between all our students can be a challenge. However, when students can work automously, we can become a&nbsp;guide or facilitator to learning. We can set learners&#39; tasks and give them time to complete them in their own way.</p>

<h3 data-end="436" data-start="271">5. Independent learners know their own needs&mdash;and how to meet them</h3>

<p>Students who know how to learn by themselves know what kind of techniques and tools they like to use. They can choose to learn in a manner that supports their needs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>These are just a few of the benefits of encouraging learner autonomy. For more on this topic, check out these blog posts:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-supercharge-your-students-study-skills">5 Ways to Supercharge Your Students Study Skills</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/developing-learner-autonomy-with-ai">Developing Learner Autonomy with AI</a></li>
</ul>

<p>You may also want to check out <a href="https://ellii.com/solo" target="_blank">Ellii Solo</a>, our comprehensive self-study platform that is perfect for independent learning success.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l-C2mk0YszA?si=58gjBGwMsPzoL-Bi" width="640"></iframe></div>

<blockquote>
<p>What are your thoughts on self-directed learning? What benefits would you add?&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>


The Importance of Self-Directed Learning: 5 Benefits of Encouraging Learner Autonomy

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<p>Sometimes I need to give myself a shake and remind myself that everyone has the power to make<strong> <em>tiny changes to Earth</em></strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Those last four words are taken from one of my favorite songs by Frightened Rabbit. They play like a mantra in my head on days when the world seems overwhelmingly tough.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I might not be able to move mountains, regrow felled trees, or end world hunger, but I can&nbsp;do little things that make a difference. Many small actions can soon add up to much bigger collective improvements to the world we live in.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this post, I look at ways we can support our learners to make tiny changes that can have a huge impact&mdash;and give you some real-world good news stories.&nbsp;</p>

<h1><strong>Believe in yourself &amp; others</strong></h1>

<p>Roza Salih has long been one of the humans I admired the most. Her story is so inspiring that it was made into a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3792220/" target="_blank">film</a>&nbsp;and a theater production, and she also features in the book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123331351-spectacular-scottish-women" target="_blank">Spectacular&nbsp;Scottish Women</a>.</p>

<p><img alt="Roza feature in Spectacular Scottish women book" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4922/content_Roza-salih.png" /></p>

<p>One of five &quot;Glasgow Girls,&quot; Roza is now the first councillor from a refugee background in Scotland. Her family came to Scotland&nbsp;from Kurdistan to claim asylum&nbsp;when she was a teenager.&nbsp;At the time, the Home Office was carrying out dawn raids on asylum seekers whose claims&nbsp;had been unsuccessful.</p>

<p>Roza and her school friends saw the injustices of their classmates being&nbsp;placed in detention centers or deported. With the help of their teacher&nbsp;and&nbsp;the community, they successfully petitioned the Scottish government to&nbsp;end the detention of minors in Scotland.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This story is a testament not only to the power of youth voice, but also to how teachers can support learners to be changemakers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can watch Roza sharing some of her tips for how to make a difference and believe in yourself here:&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/8hyWY5qNw44?si=zRQSOLMpob4C8ipE" target="_blank">Standing Up for Refugee Rights</a>.</p>

<h1><strong>Work collectively</strong></h1>

<p>Ali Waters is a young changemaker who has managed to collect one million pieces of litter around the world. This is an epic achievement to complete by the age of 11. Unsurprisingly, Ali did not collect all these individual pieces herself. As &quot;Chief Picking Officer&quot;&nbsp;for Kids Against Plastic, Ali&nbsp;enlisted the help of other litter pickers globally.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ali is now working towards a new two-million target! You can find out more about Ali&#39;s campaign and get involved&nbsp;here:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/one-in-a-million-plastic-litter-challenge">One in a Million: Plastic Litter Challenge</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/46-greening-the-elt-classroom-tips-teaching-ideas">Greening the ELT Classroom</a></li>
</ul>

<p>In the classroom, we can facilitate discussions on&nbsp;topics that matter to our students&nbsp;and have them think about how they could work together to make a difference. We can also encourage students&nbsp;to work with parents, local community groups, charities, politicians, and any other willing volunteers.</p>

<p>For instance, students could take part in <a href="https://unhabitat.org/world-cleanup-day-2025">World Cleanup Day</a>. This annual event takes place on&nbsp;September 20 and gives people&nbsp;around the globe the opportunity to participate in efforts to preserve and maintain a clean and healthy environment.</p>

<h1><strong>Inspire with changemakers</strong></h1>

<p>Nothing reminds us that we can make a change more than real stories of&nbsp;humans like ourselves who have made a difference. You could share the inspiring stories of&nbsp;Ali Waters, Roza Salih,&nbsp;or your own local heroes.</p>

<p>You could also use ready-made&nbsp;lessons on famous activists such as <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2822-viola-desmond">Viola Desmond</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2087-malala-yousafzai">Malala Yousafzai</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2566-martin-luther-king-jr">Martin Luther King Jr.</a>, and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3121-greta-thunberg">Greta Thunberg</a> from Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/famous-people?">Famous People</a><strong> </strong>section.</p>

<p><img alt="screenshot of the famous activists" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4923/content_Activists-Ellii.png" /></p>

<h1><strong>Include globally important&nbsp;topics</strong></h1>

<p>Ellii has hundreds&nbsp;of lessons on current affairs, politics, activism, and protests. These are all a brilliant starting point to get students thinking about their own impact on the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some sections you may like to explore:&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>1. </strong><a href="https://ellii.com/resources/photo-prompts"><strong>Photo Prompts</strong></a></h3>

<p>These lessons start with a photo and are designed to boost discussion and critical thinking. Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<strong>Photos Of The Week</strong> series compiles a selection of the key&nbsp;headlines while <strong>Photos in the News</strong> features&nbsp;popular news stories.</p>

<p><img alt="photos in the news" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4924/content_Photos-in-the-news-Ellii.png" /></p>

<h3><strong>2. </strong><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/that-s-news-to-me"><strong>That&#39;s News to Me</strong></a></h3>

<p>This series of lessons, featuring content from Ellii&#39;s media partner&nbsp;<strong>The Associated Press,</strong> covers social justice, politics, environment, health, and education. New weekly lessons are often available at two or three proficiency levels.&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>3. </strong><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/historic-events"><strong>Historic Events</strong></a></h3>

<p>The lessons in this section allow classes to explore topics such as racial issues, wars, movements and milestones, politics and economics, and diasters and emergencies.&nbsp;</p>

<h1><strong>Celebrate wins</strong></h1>

<p>Even small wins deserve to be celebrated. Get creative as you reward or visualize progress. Certificates, sticker charts, or visual progress trackers can all make participants feel good, and motivate people to continue.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I loved this idea from Harry Waters:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/harry-waters_for-past-couple-of-weeks-ive-been-spending-activity-7363572501924270082-aVc2/" target="_blank">Applauding wins with applause</a>.</p>

<h1><strong>Do what you can with the tools you have</strong></h1>

<p>I am not a politician&nbsp;nor a billionaire, so my power and influence may seem&nbsp;small. It is easy to let your inner troll win and think of all the things you <strong>can&#39;t </strong>do. However, as educators, we all have a&nbsp;variety of skills that we&nbsp;<strong>can</strong> use to make a difference.</p>

<p>Here are some of mine to get you started:</p>

<p><strong>1. I can cycle.</strong> So I have completed <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-growth-mindset-for-learning-teaching">various long-distance rides</a> to raise awareness and funds for good causes.</p>

<p><strong>2. I can write materials.</strong> So I created a resource pack of visual tools, a sketchnote, and an infographic to educate people about the <a href="https://www.emilybrysonelt.com/product-the-boiling-river" target="_blank">Boiling River</a> and raise money to conserve this special place.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>3. I can edit. </strong>So I compiled a couple of books for <a href="https://www.handsupproject.org/shop" target="_blank">The Hands Up Project</a>,&nbsp;which delivers English language learning through the context of stories, plays, and songs to kids in Gaza.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>4. I can share.</strong> Social media allows us to easily share campaigns and content that we want more people to know about&nbsp;or help us with. The post I am most sharing at the moment&nbsp;is about my friend <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/team/teamhuphope">Ashraf Kuhail</a>, author of &quot;Stories Alive&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;Stories Reborn&quot; for The Hands Up Project. He&nbsp;has been offered the chance to study a PhD in the UK and&nbsp;is raising money to bring his family to the UK from Gaza.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>5. I can sketchnote.</strong>&nbsp;So I collaborated with other sketchnoters to be part of the prettiest recipe book in the world:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.siepomaga.pl/sketchy-recipes-for-szymon" target="_blank">Sketchy Recipes for Szymon</a>. Sales of the book raise funds&nbsp;for a boy who desperately needs gene therapy. &nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>6. I can educate.</strong> So I can bring globally important topics into the classroom,&nbsp;facilitate debates, inspire learners, and support them&nbsp;to be changemakers.</p>

<p><strong>7. I can blog. </strong>So I can write posts like this to remind educators that we can make the world a better place, even if just a teeny tiny bit!</p>

<p>Everyone has a skill they can contribute, whether it is&nbsp;organizing a concert, selling cookies, attending a rally, making posters, or teaching a class to write poems or stories. We can ALL make (tiny) changes to Earth.&nbsp;What could&nbsp;you do?&nbsp;</p>

<p>How have you helped your learners to make the world a better place? Which ideas from this post would you like to use?&nbsp;</p>


Teachers & Learners as Changemakers: Making the World a Better Place

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<p>If there is one thing you should never do as a language teacher (or in life), it is to ask &quot;Do you understand?&quot;</p>

<p>No one wants to admit in front of their peers that they don&#39;t understand! Humans live in fear of being the only person in a group who hasn&#39;t understood something. It makes the palms sweat, the&nbsp;heart beat faster, and the face turn a telltale shade of red.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Faced with this question, most people will nod, agree, and hope that the next activity will bring clarity&mdash;or at least be simpler.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this blog post, I will share much more effective ways to check that students have understood.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>1. Concept check questions</h2>

<p>Concept check questions zoom in on detailed aspects of the language. They allow teachers to check that students have understood a grammar point or the meaning of a vocabulary item. They are particularly helpful after presenting a new grammar target.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Asking the right concept check questions can take some practice. When you&#39;re starting out in teaching, you might want to prepare them before a lesson. Over time,&nbsp;you&#39;ll likely be able to create your own as and when the need arises.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some top tips for concept check questions:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Keep it simple</strong>.&nbsp;Questions with short&nbsp;answers are the best. Aim to use very simple <em>wh-</em>&nbsp;questions, or questions with <em>yes/no</em> or <em>either/or</em> answers.&nbsp;</li>
	<li><strong>Use language students already know.</strong>&nbsp;Try not to use more complex concepts or vocabulary than the one you are checking. So don&#39;t ask questions in past perfect progressive&nbsp;when you&#39;re checking understanding of the simple past.&nbsp;</li>
	<li><strong>Play around with different questions.</strong> It&#39;s okay to ask a few questions to check meaning.&nbsp;</li>
	<li><strong>Ask questions to focus on the meaning and form.</strong>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>Let&#39;s use the following sentence to teach the simple past:&nbsp;&quot;She went to the ice cream shop last night.&quot;&nbsp;Some concept check questions might be:</p>

<ul>
	<li><em>Where did she go? &gt; The ice cream shop.&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li><em>Is she at the ice cream shop now? &gt; No.</em></li>
	<li><em>When did she go? &gt; Last night/yesterday.&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li><em>Is &quot;last night&quot; about the past, present, or future? &gt; Past.</em></li>
	<li><em>Is &quot;went&quot;&nbsp;present or past tense? &gt; Past.</em></li>
	<li><em>To talk about &quot;now,&quot; do I use &quot;went&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;go&quot;? &gt; Go.</em></li>
</ul>

<p>You can find more about concept check questions in this British Council blog post:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/managing-lesson/articles/checking-understanding">Checking Understanding</a></p>

<h2>2. Physical concept checks</h2>

<p>To check understanding and get students our of their chairs, you could bring an element of movement into the classroom. Designate each corner of the classroom as &quot;yes,&quot; &quot;no,&quot; or &quot;maybe.&quot; Have students stand up,&nbsp;ask them a concept check question, and ask&nbsp;them to move to the corner of the room that answers that question. You could also do this by having students stand in a line and step left for &quot;yes,&quot; step right for &quot;no,&quot; and stay in the same place for &quot;maybe.&quot;</p>

<h2>3. Mediation</h2>

<p>Mediation is another way to check understanding. While concept checking relies on the teacher asking the right questions to assess students have understood, mediation allows students to take a more active role in demonstrating it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mediation tasks prompt students to take notes, summarize, critically evaluate, compare information, and rephrase content. They allow learners to share their understanding with others by putting their learning into practice and perhaps explaining it to others.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can find out more in this blog post:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/mediation">Mediation: The What, Why &amp; How Explained</a></p>

<h2>4. Visual checks</h2>

<p>Visuals are a great way to check understanding. You could have students create their own visual summaries, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/sketchnoting-101-supercharged-professional-development-with-visual-notes">sketchnotes</a>, mind maps, infographics,&nbsp;timelines, or doodles to check meaning. For example, ask them to draw (or point to) a tomato or the verb &quot;run.&quot; You could also show them a couple of visuals and ask them which is correct or to adapt it to be correct.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could also use visual metaphors to allow students to share how confident they feel about a topic. Leave colored circles with &quot;traffic lights&quot;&nbsp;on their desk and have them display &quot;red&quot;&nbsp;if they definitely need support, &quot;orange&quot;&nbsp;if they might need help, and &quot;green&quot; if they are happy with their understanding. This also works well with weather symbols (a rain cloud = I need help&nbsp;/&nbsp;a sun = I&#39;m all good)&nbsp;and emojis (sad face = help me&nbsp;/ happy face = I don&#39;t need help).&nbsp;</p>

<h2>5. Peer-to-peer learning</h2>

<p>The best way to learn is to teach something!&nbsp;I&#39;ve always found that students love to &quot;be the teacher.&quot; It is an instant confidence boost to be trusted to explain something to someone else&nbsp;and a great way to give students a chance to share their understanding with others. It also has the added bonus of allowing students to potentially explain concepts in their first language&nbsp;so they can express and understand&nbsp;it more easily.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could&nbsp;pair a student who feels confident with a student who needs more support, and have them explore the linguistic point in more detail. Alternatively, have students check each others work or write quizzes or comprehension questions for each other.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>6. Assessment tools</h2>

<p>Ellii has over 70 assessment tools designed specifically to help teachers check students&#39; understanding. These range from placement tests to needs assessments and&nbsp;reflection tools.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here is an example from the Exit Slips&nbsp;resource. Students can complete these before leaving to help them evaluate and share what they learned in class that day.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2228-exit-slips"><img alt="Ellii's exit slips" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4861/content_exit-slip.png" /></a></p>

<p>You can access these resources here:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2228-exit-slips">Exit Slips</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/resources/assessment-tools">Assessment Tools</a></li>
</ul>

<p>Here are some other blog posts on checking reading comprehension that we think you&#39;ll love:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/pre-reading-activities-to-boost-comprehension">Pre-Reading Activities to Boost Comprehension</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/10-activities-to-increase-understanding-while-reading">10 Activities to Increase Understanding While Reading</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/9-post-reading-activities-to-help-students-reflect-on-a-text">9 Post-Reading Activities to Help Students Get the Most Out of a Text</a></li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>Have you tried any of these techniques to check understanding? What are your top tips? We&#39;d love to hear your experiences and ideas. Let us know in the comments!</p>
</blockquote>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The Perils of "Do You Understand?" & How to Check Comprehension Effectively

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<p>We&#39;ve all attended online workshops and webinars that have bored us to the point of checking our emails or cleaning our desk. Perhaps the content wasn&#39;t what we were expecting, or maybe the presenter was just reading word for word from a set of busy slides.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this blog post, I&#39;ll share some of my top tips for delivering awesome teacher training online. These are tips and tricks I use myself and that I&#39;ve learned through watching other experts in the field at work.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Make it count</strong></h2>

<p>In&nbsp;any training session, we want participants to feel like they have invested their time wisely. Time is precious, especially for teachers. No one wants to waste it on a poorly researched session delivered in mono<em>dr</em>one. We need to make each second count&nbsp;and aim to have delegates leave feeling like they&#39;ve really learned something transformative.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Know your topic</strong></h2>

<p>To make the session count, you need to be knowledgeable about your topic. Make sure your information is up to date by&nbsp;joining groups on social media, watching webinars, listening to podcasts, and chatting to colleagues as well as&nbsp;reading research, articles, and blogs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is often best to choose something that you have lived experience with or a subject that you have researched passionately. Your enthusiasm will shine through if you choose to speak about something that really excites you.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Value the audience</strong></h2>

<p>Every teacher brings their own unique skills and experience to the session. As teacher trainers, our role is to help teachers share their ideas, tips, and activities with each other.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Harry Waters, one of my teacher training idols, once made the point that teacher trainers give teachers ideas&nbsp;so&nbsp;they can&nbsp;add their own spin to them and make those ideas bigger and better.</p>

<p>Allowing the training room to be a sharing space lets teachers capitalize on the expertise of the trainer as well as their own and their peers&#39;.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Be interactive</strong></h2>

<p>Making sessions interactive gets the audience involved, makes them feel valued, and helps them learn through each other by sharing their expertise. It also avoids turning an online workshop into a lecture. One of the simplest ways to do this is through posing questions in the chat&nbsp;and reading out any interesting and helpful ideas.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Depending on the size of the audience&nbsp;and the learning platform, you&nbsp;could also make use of online tools such as:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Polls:&nbsp;Ask questions and get people voting in Zoom or via Mentimeter or perhaps even with an&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/polls">Ellii Poll</a>.</li>
	<li>Reactions: Ask participants to share their thoughts using emojis in the chat&nbsp;or the reactions tool.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Annotation: Have participants interact on screen using&nbsp;text, drawings, or icons by&nbsp;using annotation tools.</li>
	<li>Breakout Rooms: Give attendees time in pairs or groups to share their ideas, solve a problem, or create an activity.</li>
	<li>Shared Documents:&nbsp;Use Google Docs, MS Word Online, or Padlet&nbsp;to have participants collaborate.</li>
	<li>Whiteboards: Complete tables, add information in visual templates, or create mind maps using interactive whiteboards such as <a href="http://Canva.com">Canva</a>, <a href="http://www.miro.com">Miro</a>, or <a href="http://mural.co">Mural</a>.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2><strong>Use minimal text&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>Too many words on a slide can be distracting. Participants will naturally aim to read the text, which can be quite confusing if they are also trying to listen&nbsp;to what the presenter is saying at the same time. This can often lead to neither textual nor oral input being comprehensible.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Instead, use text sparingly to remind yourself&nbsp;of points you&#39;d like to make. A few clear bullet points will support the participants to follow your talk. Alternatively, use icons, images, or doodles as visual cues.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Use engaging visuals</strong></h2>

<p>Visuals are an impactful way of generating discussions, simplifying complex information, and helping your audience think more deeply about a topic. Some of the best workshops and webinars I have attended used only images to express information, add a touch of humor, and generate questions to get the audience involved.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, say you are delivering a session on student well-being. Instead of presenting a comprehensive&nbsp;list of challenges that may affect a learners&#39; mental health or confidence, you could display this image of &quot;Storm Man.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Ellii Photo prompt, storm man" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4744/content_Ellii-Photo-prompt-storm-man-image.jpg" /></p>

<p>Then you could have people write their own ideas in the chat or by using annotation tools. This way the activity is more interactive and you can actively involve your audience in the session.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Encourage movement</strong></h2>

<p>As in face-to-face training, sitting still for too long can make us stiffen up, feel sluggish, and&nbsp;even induce aches and pains. Online English language classes are more fun with a bit of movement and so too are training sessions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could try these techniques to re-energize:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Doodling: Describe or demonstrate how to draw something and have participants draw their own image. For example, have them draw their own &quot;Storm Man.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Movement Voting: Host an interactive poll where participants stand up for yes, shake their head animatedly for no, lift&nbsp;their arms in the air for maybe, and bend to the right or left for not sure.</li>
	<li>Pass the Pen: Hold a pen and introduce yourself or share a teaching tip, and then pass the pen remotely to another participant. They have to pick up the pen and add their own input to the task, and then pass the pen to the another person of their choice.</li>
	<li>Chair Yoga: Do some gentle stretches from your chair.</li>
	<li>Movement while Brainstorming: If you&#39;d like to give participants five minutes to think about something, have them walk around the room as they do it and then come back to share their ideas.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2><b>Get the lighting (and tech) right</b></h2>

<p>Make sure your face isn&#39;t in a shadow. Aim to have the light source in front of you. Natural light is best so sitting facing a window can often be the best option. However, a strong lamp or ring light can be just as effective.</p>

<p>It is a good idea to arrive a little early in case you need to play around with curtains, blinds, or lamps. This is also a good opportunity to check that there is no clutter (or anything embarrassing) in the background and that all your tech is working correctly. Check your mic, camera, and screensharing capabilities as a minimum.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Be yourself!</strong></h2>

<p>I&#39;m sure everyone has their own online teacher training idols. These are people whose sessions you attend with awe and&nbsp;aspire to be just like them. The reality is that everyone is different and will present in different ways. Some speakers are natural comedians, others are fantastic at telling stories, and some even use singing, drawing, or drama to bring their sessions to life. Share your own unique self and shine as brightly as&nbsp;only you can!</p>

<blockquote>
<p>What are your top tips for delivering teacher development sessions online? Who are your teaching training idols? We&#39;d love to know what makes an awesome webinar to you.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Check out these Ellii webinars</h2>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ZeOTiexGtM?si=-vPzmRRGLmS_09cU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZeOTiexGtM&amp;list=PLP0N5nuiA3aOnP9kH4IYJ4INeniYQpYGa&amp;index=24" target="_blank">How to Use Ellii&#39;s Lesson Planner</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1BucslnAsw&amp;list=PLP0N5nuiA3aOnP9kH4IYJ4INeniYQpYGa&amp;index=23" target="_blank">Boosting Student Talk Time</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMlFNOxnhwg&amp;list=PLP0N5nuiA3aOnP9kH4IYJ4INeniYQpYGa&amp;index=22" target="_blank">How to Use Ellii&#39;s Career Pathway Content: Allied Healthcare Webinar 2024&nbsp;</a></li>
</ul>


How to Deliver Online Teacher Training That Rocks!

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Learn how to make the most of your Ellii subscription with tips from our publishing team.

Teaching with Ellii

<p>Once upon a time, literacy skills referred to reading and writing. However,&nbsp;we now access and process information in multiple ways, not simply through interpreting texts. Therefore, we need to support learners to develop multiple literacy skills to help them navigate the world successfully.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this post, I&#39;ll explore the more complex and intertwined nature of the various literacies learners need, and how to integrate them into the English language classroom.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Multiliteracies</strong></h2>

<p>There are various interpretations and classifications of multiple literacies. These depend on the organization and their&nbsp;goals. These&nbsp;often include literacies such as: &nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Textual Literacy (also referred to as Reading and Writing Literacy)</li>
	<li>Critical Literacy (the abilility to think critically and&nbsp;question sources of&nbsp;information)</li>
	<li>Information Literacy (aka Media Literacy)</li>
	<li>Visual Literacy&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Digital Literacy, which could also include Social Media and AI Literacy</li>
	<li>Financial Literacy</li>
	<li>Mathematical or Numerical Literacy (aka Numeracy)</li>
	<li>Global Literacy (aka Intercultural, Cultural, or Social Literacy)</li>
</ul>

<p>In some ways, there is crossover between life skills development and multiliteracy development. For example, mathematical literacy could also be referred to as math or numeracy skills. Likewise, visual literacy requires other skills such as critical thinking, interpretation, and creativity.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can read more about life skills development here:&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/top-tips-for-incorporating-life-skills-into-your-classroom">6 Tips for Incorporating Life Skills into Your English Language Lessons</a></p>

<h2><strong>Multimodal&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>The information we interact with today is multimodal. Therefore, in order to prepare learners for the real world, we need to equip them with a variety of literacy skills to interpret&nbsp;and use it successfully and responsibly.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some examples of the different modes of information sources:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Photos</li>
	<li>Videos</li>
	<li>Infographics</li>
	<li>Diagrams &amp; Graphs</li>
	<li>Illustrations &amp; Artwork</li>
</ul>

<p>Students can be guided to develop their skills in understanding,&nbsp;interpreting, and creating the content within these information sources. In order to do so, they will need to use multiple literacies.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Luckily for teachers, many resources are already full of multimodal texts. For example, let&#39;s use some of Ellii&#39;s money-themed lessons.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Word Bank Readers: At the Bank&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>At first, learners watch the video. They use their textual literacy skills to read the subtitles and write down notes. As they watch, they use their visual literacy skills to follow the story of Sheila going to the bank. After watching, they might discuss what problems Sheila had and how she solved them, utilizing their financial, digital, critical, and social&nbsp;literacy skills. They could personalize this further by comparing alternative ways to do this, such as using their digital skills to bank online. To incorporate global skills, they could investigate currencies or banking differences around the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can access this lesson here:<strong>&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://ellii.com/video/a-trip-to-the-bank">https://ellii.com/video/a-trip-to-the-bank</a></p>

<p>As extension tasks, learners could use their digital literacy&nbsp;to work through the tasks in their Ellii Classroom.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They could also:</p>

<ul>
	<li>activate their global and visual literacy by discussing this intriguing photo prompt: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3956-money-money-money">Money, Money, Money</a></li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="Ellii Money Money Money Photo Prompt" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4690/content_photo-prompt-money-money-money-Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<ul>
	<li>use textual and visual&nbsp;literacy to watch and take notes of this self-study video:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/video/at-the-bank">At the Bank</a></li>
	<li>Explore their financial literacy more with this lesson on <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1210-retirement-savings">Retirement Savings</a></li>
	<li>Have them use their digital and media literacy skills to create a vlog, podcast, or blog on the topic</li>
</ul>

<h2><strong>Multisensory</strong></h2>

<p>The multimodal nature of information consumption is a multisensory process. Learners will interact with the content using a range of senses. This can help them to learn through doing as well as keeping them motivated by adding variety and movement&nbsp;to classroom activities. For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>listening to a story</li>
	<li>reading a text</li>
	<li>talking to a partner about the topic</li>
	<li>writing notes or an article</li>
	<li>performing a role-play</li>
	<li>smelling or tasting food from a recipe they followed</li>
	<li>creating a poster or information board</li>
</ul>

<h2><strong>Multicultural</strong></h2>

<p>English language classes are often multicultural. Our learners bring a wonderfully unique blend of beliefs, experiences, cultures, and backgrounds to class. Helping them to develop their social, emotional, and global literacies aid intercultural understanding and can facilitate some interesting real-world discussions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some Ellii materials&nbsp;you might want to use to incorporate global literacies:&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/easy-news-stories">Easy News Stories:</a> These simple news articles cover a range of real-world topics. They are perfect for having students consider unfamiliar cultures, learn about global challenges. and consider ways that they can make the world a better place.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/current-events">Associated Press Videos:</a> These short video clips cover diverse topics such as <a href="https://ellii.com/video/k-pop-exhibition-in-london-museum">K-pop culture</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/video/stranger-things-stars-open-up-about-mental-health">mental health</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/video/india-s-hindus-celebrate-colorful-holi-festival">religious festivals</a>. Students will enjoy using their visual and media literacy skills to explore authentic topics of social, emotional, and global importance.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You may also be interested in this blog post on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/social-emotional-learning">social-emotional learning</a>, which shares some ways to develop learners&#39; social and emotional literacies.&nbsp;</p>

<p>We also highly recommend watching this video of Nik Peachey&#39;s session on Multimodality in the English Language Teaching and Learning&nbsp;at the APPI Conference in Portugal.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ky_tP7FM4fw?si=tqKDSL8hJ6kqvKjw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<blockquote>
<p>What experience do you have of incorporating multiliteracies into the classroom? Which ones do you feel are particularly important to your learners? We&#39;d love to know your thoughts, ideas, and tips in the comments.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>


The Multimodal, Multisensory, Multicultural Power of Multiliteracy Learning

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