Relax, take it easy ;)

Aloha!

First of all, let me give you a quick spoiler alert: this post won't be about work. 

The last few months have been crazy for our teaching community. Some of us have sweat more than ever trying to make remote teaching work, while others have lost their students and classes due to the pandemic. In any case, it's been an emotional roller-coaster for all of us.

It's summer now, a lot of us can enjoy a well-deserved break and take care of ourselves. Nobody knows what the future holds so it's important to charge batteries before we get back to work and tackle new challenges. I know it's not easy to switch off and stop thinking about work, but  I strongly believe that a happy, relaxed teacher is a good teacher. For this reason, I wanted to share my ways to unwind. Perhaps some of you will enjoy them, too :)



Apart from reading books and binging on Netflix (I'm now watching Mindhunter, which I highly recommend), I love listening to podcasts. Here are some of my favourite podcasts:

BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour
Serial Podcast - especially season 1!
Stitcher - various podcasts - I really enjoyed This sounds serious


I've also become fond of colouring! It's a simple activity but has
proven to be very calming and relaxing. It helps me focus on something else than work and disconnect. Amazon offers a variety of fun colouring books for adults- check them out.




I'm sure I've already mentioned this in another post, but can't express my gratitude for FutureLearn - their free online courses are the bomb! If you want to spend your time in a more productive way, then I'm sure you'll enjoy learning something new through their professional courses.


Speaking of productive activities, exercise is definitely one of them. Sadly, I'm not a very sporty person but I've found Yoga with Adriene  fantastic- her 30 day yoga challenge hooked me on yoga and regular stretching. I also love long walks - they work like a therapy for me. Because of the lockdown and restrictions, I have discovered some truly charming and picturesque places in my neighbourhood. Go and explore your area, you won't regret it :)

After a good exercise, you surely deserve a slice of a delicious cake. Baking is another activity I find therapeutic and I try to bake something at least once a week. I never have time so I normally go for quick and easy recipes. Here are some recipes that always work for me:

The easiest banana bread ever
Basque cheesecake
The best apple crumble
Lemon-poppyseed cake
Basic muffins

How do you unwind? What helps you switch off? Remember, sharing is caring so comment with your tricks :) 

     Take care of yourself and stay safe! 

Tools for Teachers

Ahoy! 

This post is devoted to a variety of tools I find useful for teachers and students alike.

 I will be updating this list on a regular basis so please make sure to check it every now and again to see if anything new has been added.

• Genial.ly - a tool for creating interactive resources such as presentations, games, etc.

• Quizizz - a tool to create interactive quizzes and tests

• Kahoot - a game-based learning platform

• Quizlet - an app to learn vocabulary 

• Half a Crossword - make your own crossword

• Padlet a platform to share teaching material as well as students' work

• Screencast - recording and editing videos 

• Voki - for developing speaking skills

 Are there any tools/platforms you enjoy using in teaching both remotely and in-person? Please comment with your suggestions :) 

Social Distancing Bingo

How are you keeping? I hope you're not suffering from cabin fever. I'm definitely enjoying some perks of working from home (for example, having lunch on my balcony), but I'm very much looking forward to going back to "normal". 

I just wanted to touch base with you and share this quick Social Distancing Bingo I prepared for my teenage students. It can be used as a time filler, warm-up activity or exercise to practice the present perfect tenses. 

It's up to you how you want to use this activity but here is one idea: 

Students need to interview one another and find who has done the activities from the grid. It is better if they ask only a few questions per person- this will encourage them to speak to more people. Once they have filled four boxes in a row (diagonally, vertically or horizontally) with 4 different peer names, they need to call out BINGO! 

(If you teach online, you will need to use breakout rooms or a similar feature that will let you divide your students in pairs/groups). 

I hope this activity will brighten your and your students' moods a bit :)

Take care and stay safe :)

Teaching in times of Social Distancing

Long time no read,

I hope this finds you well...Even though I am having a (hopefully) short break from full-time teaching, education and ELT are still close to my heart and I surely haven't forgotten about you. 

This is a difficult time for all of us and a lot of you have been thrown in at the deep end and needed to move your courses online. I have taught online and attended various online courses as a learner myself...E-learning creates endless opportunities and has numerous advantages, but it can be daunting and confusing, especially at the beginning. 

This is why I created this list of (hopefully!) useful links that should help you feel more confident in teaching online. Feel free to comment with similar websites.We can do this! 

Tech Tools to Teach Online

• Google Classroom - a free web service, developed by Google for schools, that aims to simplify creating, distributing, and grading assignments in a paperless way
• EDmodo - an educational technology company offering a communication, collaboration, and coaching platform to K-12 schools and teachers
• Zoom - a web-based video conferencing tool with a local, desktop client and a mobile app that allows users to meet online, with or without video. Zoom users can choose to record sessions, collaborate on projects, and share or annotate on one another's screens, all with one easy-to-use platform
• Zoom Meeting Tutorial -if you decide to teach via zoom, then this tutorial might come in very handy!
• Four online teaching platforms Comparison by Teaching ESL online
• Slack for ELT - a simple communication tool for you and your students (and their parents!)

Tips and Resources for Teaching Online

• 5 ways to create and engaging and online class - I guess this one is self-explanatory ;) 
• 5 teaching tips - COVID19 - What is ELT's tips on teaching online
• Teaching online - using your coursebook and ideas for breakout rooms - British Council's webinars to help you get started with teaching online;
• Covid-19 learning support - British Council's  learning materials on LearnEnglish website to support teachers, parents and students.
• +50 Awesome Reading and Writing Websites to Keep Kids Learning at Home - Bored teachers
• Teaching online- the joys and challenges - youtube webinar with Cecilia Nobre 
• TypeForm- Create Online Tests, Questionnaires & Quizzes Tutorial on how to use TypeForm by EdTech 4 Beginners
• Challenges in ELT- teaching online - OneStopEnglish article
• Distance Teaching and Learning Hub - Macmillan Education teaching and learning resources available for free 
• Teaching from home tips and resources -Oxford University Press ELT
• Using a video conference platform for teaching online - Cambridge University Press
• Top tips for teaching English online - Pearson's top tips

I hope you'll find the above websites full of useful tips and resources. May this experience be an opportunity to develop new skills and discover new resources.

Keep up the great work, have fun and most importantly: 

take care of yourself and stay safe :*