Vive la (online) Collaboration – a tale of how two (virtual) heads are better than one (Cambridge Conversations)

[ELTWeekly Volume 8, Issue 12 | July 18, 2016 | ISSN 0975-3036]


Marcin Lewandowski says, “Being an autonomous and independent learner is crucial for successful language learning. The ability to manage your own learning without relying on the teacher is a skill that should be in the repertoire of all language (and otherwise) students. To this end, teachers too should encourage and help students develop this skill. One way of doing it is through setting up collaborative activities where learners can draw on each other’s (rather than the teacher’s) knowledge and experience to complete a task.

Collaboration advantage

Learner collaboration has numerous advantages. It develops real life transferable skills like teamwork, allocation of responsibilities, and negotiation. It also promotes learner independence by shifting the focus from the teacher onto other students.

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Conveying Passion: Bringing Literature Into the Classroom (OUP ELT Blog)

[ELTWeekly Volume 8, Issue 12 | July 18, 2016 | ISSN 0975-3036]


Amos PAran says, “

I have always found literature to be an extremely powerful tool in the classroom. Maybe it’s because of my own love of literature – maybe I managed to convey some of my passion. Maybe the fact that I love literature made me try out more interesting lesson plans – for example, I think that the lessons in which I taught or used literature were much more learner centred than other lessons.  I always felt that my learners enjoyed their literature lessons and we always had great discussions about important issues.

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