Posts

Showing posts from 2019

Can We Be Political in the Classroom?

Image
Last Saturday I gave a talk at the  APAC ELT Convention 2019 in Barcelona  Thank you everybody for coming! :=) I made a point that we are all political either by action or by inaction, and I promised I would share some resources to deal with current issues in the class and encourage students to participate.  In the link (attention! it is case-sensitive and it is cc underline ) bit.ly/cc_APAC2019 you will find three folders:  General  Name pairs - to be cut - Give a name or surname to each student at random so that they work with different partner each time - customize as you wish. [Idea taken from Mario Rinvolucri] Pres. Card-  sample of a card to fill in on the first day - swap with a partner and ask questions International Days  Worksheets - resources to be used   November - Buy Nothing Day - [date changes every year] Relate to Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Blue Monday December 10 -   International Human Rights Day - Declaration in plain language  Janu

Can we be Political in the Classroom? Critical Thinking Skills

Image
Come to my talk at the APAC ELT Convention 2019 in Barcelona  on Saturday 2nd February 12.45   - Campus Ciutadella, Universitat Pompeu Fabra -  Aula 40012 -  See my next post for resources shared at the talk “Man is by nature a political animal” said Aristotle. Everyone is political for action or for inaction. How can we bring political issues in the classroom without compromising our position as teachers and educators? We usually encourage our students to participate in class and by that we mean: have a say, do your homework, ask questions. Anyone may participate, but most students often do not, because participation requires training. Participation implies getting involved in the decision-making process and encourages a sense of personal and social responsibility. Those who are not interested or ignore issues are actually political in the sense that they let others choose the course of action and lead the group; in other words, non participants l