New year. Time to reflect on what we did, and what we can do. It’s also time to define our priorities and review our goals.
I was talking to my sister, who’s a clinical psychologist, about goals and how to reach them. She said we may get anxious or lost sometimes when we have a goal or a project that requires a lot of work because we’re looking at the bigger picture. She added that our first reaction is to feel overwhelmed and even doubt our ideas and ourselves, and this is because we only focus on the final results we’re hoping to get.
It’s like this big mountain below. We want to climb it, to conquer it, but it looks absolutely daunting at first.
She said we should break that major goal into smaller goals, so then each time we conquer one, we’ll feel good about ourselves which in turn will motivate us to go on to the next one.
Looking back to 2019, it didn’t seem like I had done much for my career, but when I went over the pictures on my phone, I was actually surprised! I didn’t plan much for what I saw in those pictures, I have to say. Opportunities came up and I took them. Then I wondered… If I were able to do all that without a well-thought-out road map to guide me, imagine what I can accomplish if I do have a plan?
My advice
My advice to you, dear reader, is to carefully think about what you want to achieve. Look back at what you’ve done so far. See what needs to be improved, changed, or left behind. (Yes, sometimes we must give something up and move on). Write down all that you want to conquer this year. Set that aside and start breaking up your goals into smaller, more tangible ones.
For instance, say you want to read more this year. (I do). You already have lots of books that you haven’t opened, and you’re overwhelmed because you’ll need to read some titles for work, while others are on your not-so-important list, but you bought them because you liked the author or the topic. (You know how that goes). Now, you ask yourself, what do I need to do to be able to read more? You can start by setting a time to read and silence your phone and notifications. You can also read what you like first, and ditch the books you’re not enjoying and don’t need. Sell or donate them. They’re just taking up space and collecting dust on your shelves. Now that ultimate goal is getting more realistic and attainable. (These ideas about reading more I found here)
Final Confession
I have to say I’m not great at this. I’m used to just going with the flow. What I can tell you is that this is not a good way to get what you really want. We waste time and energy. I now realize that. So, if you’re up for it, join me this year in this new challenge: planning and taking one bite at a time. If you’re already doing it, though, it’d be great to hear your thoughts and ideas.
“Can you recommend a (course) book I can use, preferably one with a teacher’s guide so I can follow?”
“Does anyone know of websites where I can find resources for this business class I have to teach?”
“I’d like to know how you prepare your (online) lessons. Do you prepare presentations? Do you use apps?”
“Can you give me a few tips on how to prepare conversation lessons for an upper intermediate student?”
If you follow social media groups for teachers like I do, chances are you have seen (heard) these types of questions quite often.
After talking about it with a dear friend of mine, Beth Mattei, a teacher with decades of experience in the classroom and as a private tutor, we decided to collaborate on a project.
We’ll be carrying out a series of online classes starting June 27th, aimed at teachers who are thinking about going solo, and for those who do not have much experience, but do have a lot of questions.
This post is to proudly announce this collaboration.
In order to answer the questions we’ve most frequently heard, we’ve prepared a quick and flexible foundations course to give teachers the tools to prepare for this new environment.
The course consists of 6 modules that can be taken separately or together, and it’ll be carried out 100% online.
Module 1
Teaching one-to-one: problems & solutions
Module 2
Needs analysis/ Placement tests: defining your learner’s level
Module 3
Assessment (Testing your learner’s progress) & Communication (Using Google apps)
Module 4
Choosing your class materials (course books & beyond) – How to choose materials for online lessons
Module 5
Planning a lesson – Part I (Different approaches)
Module 6
Planning a lesson – Part II – What to dowhen all fails (Alternative ideas)
If you don’t follow me on FB, Instagram or LinkedIn, you wouldn’t know that tomorrow I’ll be hosting a Free webinar at 11:00 am Brasília time/2:00 pm London.
Connecting with people these days may seem easy because after all almost everyone uses social media and has a cell phone, right? Making new friends, then, and interacting with people should be a breeze since we have different ways to meet lots of people at the same time, and from all parts of the world, you’d think?
Now let’s go one step further. Consider connecting over the internet with a total stranger who is hiring you to teach them a language for a period of time that may take months or years. How do we do it? How do we truly connect? Is that an easy thing to do?
In this post, I want to share with you a bit about my talk “Overcoming the Distance and Delivering a Successful Online Lesson”, which I had the chance to present at BRAZTESOL International Conference, and later this year, at another event dearest to my heart: BrELT on the Road.
The Talk
I’ve been teaching online since 2014, but before that, I had taken online courses and MOOCs , so I am quite familiar with both synchronous and asynchronous learning environments. One thing that has always been clear to me, is that the learning experience is not about the apps, platforms, or whichever technology we use. It’s about the teacher, the learner(s) and how we connect. Technology is, ultimately, a means to an end.
While I was doing the research for my talk, I came across this book: Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching _ How to “Be there” for Distance Learners, by Rosemary M. Lehman and Simone C. O. Conceição, (Jossey-Bass, 2010). In it the authors discuss this connection between teacher and learner(s) and where technology stands. Their ideas resonated with me and how I see online learning, both as a teacher and as a learner myself.
Below is a visual representation I made that shows the authors’ thoughts behind the concept of ‘presence in online learning’.
In this graphic, you can see that Technology is all around, permeating the spaces, but not interfering. It’s simply there — connecting Teacher and Learner(s). That “magic space” where you want to be with your learners is called ‘Presence’.
The longer I spend teaching online, the more I realize the importance of building this special space to connect with my learners, what Lehman and Conceição refer to as ‘presence’.
Establishing rapport is vital to build a good relationship, promote trust and lower your students’ affective filters. Unlike in a face-to-face setting, where you can directly interact with your learners, in any online environment you need to find ways to break this barrier and involve your students in the process.
How do I create ‘Presence’ in my (synchronous) classes?
Some ideas
Google Classroom
I’ve been using Google Classroom to centralize my students’ materials. I personalize each space. Then, I add texts, links, videos, assign homework, tests, and send notifications. They can add materials and post too. It’s a simple and organized way for them to participate and collaborate towards their learning. (I use it with my face-to-face students as well)
Establish Aims (face-to-face students as well)
I add a Google Doc page with ‘monthly aims’ to give my adult learners more controlover their learning. There they can see what we will cover in that month, and we both assess if such goals have been met or not. It’s really simple. You can design your own progress checker doc. Think in simple terms like language, (grammar & vocabulary), skills, pronunciation, and special requests if necessary (i.e. preparing for a job interview may involve specific tasks and goals). It’s a month-long list so it’ll be easy to create and to follow. I also like to add any emerging language that comes up, or pronunciation problem/feature we need to work on. It’s about creating an opportunity for them to exercise agency.
When learners keep track of their own progress and give the teacher their feedback, a partnership is established. Presence is reinforced and the learners feel more motivated to go on.
Active Listen & Watch
This should be in any teacher’s routine, but essential in online classrooms. We must listen to our learner’s actively to understand their real needs. Many times teachers assume they know what students need. It’s a humbling exercise if you came from a teaching background where you used to be in control of everything, but in the end, “it’s not about you. It’s about your learner”, as author and teacher educator Luiz Otávio Barros reminded us in his plenary at BRAZTESOL 2018.
Another aspect of online teaching that may go unnoticed, is monitoring. It’s as important to monitor your students carefully in an online environment as in a face-to-face setting. You should pay close attention to their facial and physical expressions. Does it look like they comprehend you and know what they’re supposed to do? The same way that a student can shy away from asking a question in person, it won’t be different in an online lesson.
Only when really listen to our learners can we truly connect and help them achieve their goals.
Needs Analysis
When teaching online, I recommend during the need analysis process, to go beyond their learning needs. Talk to your students about how comfortable they are with technology. This way you can predict problems they may have and be prepared to provide solutions and make them more comfortable in this environment.
Reassure your learners that the technical challenges they experience are NOT a reflection of their linguistic skills.
Final Tips
photo credit: varidesk.com
Your Body talks too
You’re not tied to your chair. Move your chair away from the desk from time to time.
I like to do that sometimes as if I were giving them some physical space to think and work. It breaks that same old static image of me staring at them throughout the lesson. Just think of moments when you would take a step back in a face-to-face lesson and move your chair away a bit.
Don’t sit in the same position the entire lesson.
If you have the space, stand up and make use of the room. I like to use what’s around me and ask the student to do the same. For instance, when teaching an A1 lesson about there is/are, or this/that I asked the students to tell me where things were in my room and then theirs. Another time a student had his lesson at a cafe in a shopping mall and we talked about what was around him as a warm-up. He moved the camera so I could see it. Those are simple and effective things that we can easily do which will narrow the distance between your learners and you. You become part of their environment and vice-versa.
That’s the gist of my talk. I hope my tips will help you. Please share your thoughts if you try any of them.
And how do you connect with your learners in an online setting?
It’s been a while since my last post. I left you with my advice and encouragement to take risks, expose yourselves and dare. Write, submit proposals, and let it shine.
That’s what I did. I came back from BRAZ-TESOL International Conference, which took place in Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil, from July 19th-22nd.
We had presenters from many parts of the country, as well as from other nations, and I was one of them.
Being there meant a lot to me because it is the culmination of a series of steps I’ve carefully taken in my career and education to develop and grow.
5 years ago I was not even teaching English. I was living in the US doing something completely different; I had been away from a classroom for years and teaching seemed like a distant memory . Now fast-forward to 2018 and here I am: presenting at an international conference, sharing what I’ve learned and learning from some of the most prestigious names in ELT in Brazil and abroad.
My talk was about how to bridge a gap between teacher and learners in an online setting. My focus was on how to build rapport and make sure your lesson is successful. By successful I meant connecting with your students as if you were face-to-face. I also talked about how we teachers have our own prior beliefs and biases regarding online teaching and how we can overcome that.
Now, let me take you to the last day of the conference when I gave my presentation. I arrived early and I’d made sure I had saved the presentation to the cloud (Google Drive & Dropbox for good measure), plus I had it in my email, and in a memory stick. Everything was perfect until I found out that I lacked one thing: a cable to connect my Mac to the school’s projector! *Gasp*
You’d think I would be panicking, but I wasn’t. I guess I knew that someone in this great community of teachers would help me. Do I advise coming unprepared? No! Not at all! But at BRAZ-TESOL I knew I was among friends. In the end a teacher I had just met the day before offered to lend me a cable _and_ clicker! He not only lent me his equipment, but installed everything and I was ready and set 15 minutes before my talk! Thanks Hulgo Freitas!
My final thoughts and advice
Come Prepared!
Don’t count on someone like Hulgo, because you may not be as lucky as I was. (I already bought cables and a clicker!)
Ask More Experienced Speakers for Advice or Feedback.
After my talk I was a bit upset because I had to rush a bit towards the end. The reason that happened was that I had 40 minutes total and I didn’t account for that. I thought I’d have extra time for Q&A. Another reason is that people started asking questions towards the end and that was was because of the way I presented the information. I started with the theory and moved to practical and real examples last. So I talked to an experienced speaker, Luiz Otávio Barros. He told me to trim the talk to about 30′ so I’d have an extra 10’ to account for questions, rehearse it until I nail it and to start with what the audience wants to hear: the practical and real examples. Once I have their attention and interest, the rest of my talk should go smoothly. The theory can come last to support my examples, and by the end of the talk everyone will have asked their questions and gotten their answers. Great advice, isn’t it?
Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes or To Look Silly.
Your proposal was accepted because you have something worthy to say. Don’t worry if something goes wrong during your presentation like a glitch with your slides, the Internet or if you stutter. Be authentic. You know your stuff. That’s why you’re there! So long as you prepare for your talk and possible questions, no one will care about those things. Your posture, your confidence and how you handle yourself will matter most.
What’s next?
For me, I’ll get a second chance! I’ll be presenting the same talk in São Paulo on September 7th, at BrELT on The Road 2018. How great is that? I’ll listen to Luiz’s advice. He said he’ll try to watch my next talk! No pressure there, huh?
How about you? What advice do you have for presenters?
Thanks for reading & ’til next time!
PS. Here’s more about my talk and if you’re interested, there’s still time to register! It’ll be a great event. Hope to see you there!
Online Teaching: Overcoming The Distance and Delivering a Successful Lesson
In this talk, I will share tips to overcome the most common problems in synchronous learning: adaptability, struggle (teacher and students alike), computer literacy, discipline and motivation, and credibility.
Teachers will be presented with solutions to choose and adapt the right material to their learners; the most common platforms used for online teaching; tips on how to build rapport, engage students and bridge the distance gap between them.
Being there meant a lot to me because it is the culmination of a series of steps I’ve carefully taken in my career and education to develop and grow.
Freelancing 
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