Online Presentations, CPD and the lots

Presenting at an Online Conference: 
                                                 food for thought

The other day I presented at "The cultures of EAP" online conference and my presentation got me thinking (yay, you get to read another one of my rambles), so,  I now really want to share with you some of my thoughts about online conferences, how I experienced the conference as a member of the audience and my views as a presenter as well.

Why attend an online conference?

• For continual professional development.... obviously!
• They offer the option of recordings, so everything is saved. If you miss a session, you can watch it later. 
• They are convenient. You are at home, in your jammies and learning in the most comfortable of ways.
• Participants can be from all over the world, so you may hear a talk from someone who would not be able to present at a face to face conference (for presenters who are not key note or invited speakers, face to face conferences can be a bit expensive in terms of travel expenses).
• The platforms that host online conferences have chat boxes so you also get to interact with the other attendees. There are no ''shhhhh" moments in this case (while they are an an excellent opportunity for some serious chatting, they can be a bit distracting though).

Why present at an online conference?

Well, why not? OK, if you need a bit more persuading, here goes.

• You, the presenter, don't have to go anywhere. You are at home, so actually there are no expenses! It is also probably the most comfortable way to present (you are in your slippers, in your own chair etc, etc)!!
• Because presentations get recorded, you can reflect on what went well in your presentation and what needs to be improved. You can also keep your presentation in some sort of e-portfolio ( I add mine to my blog page). 
• You may be nervous, but not as nervous as when presenting face to face. So, if you want to start presenting your views, an online conference is less nerve wracking.
• Your audience is from all around the world!
• It is good for the CV fellow teacher.
• Like any conference presentation, you get to dig deeper into issues you are interested in, share your views and even learn something from the audience's comments. It is a win-win situation.

The PPP of an online presentation: advice to the presenter

Plan

Practice

Promote

If you do submit a proposal for a talk at an online conference, this is what I suggest. Plan your talk, make you slides and then practice what you are going to say. Time yourself because while at a face to face conference someone will probably warn you when you only have 5 minutes left, at an online one that does not really happen so it is easier to lose track of time. Finally, start promoting your talk. If you want people to attend your talk, inform them by tweeting about it (systematically), share the info on Facebook and LinkedIn groups. If you have a google+ button, press it. 

On a more personal note... my talk..... my reflections....

I talked about the impact of presentation skills assessment criteria on syllabus design. This was my first EAP related talk, so I was really enthused about it. I am not going to toot my own horn about the things I think I did well. I am going to tall you what I did do though. I had a lot of things to say and that was mistake numero uno. My planning. I timed myself at home, but lost track of time due to nervousness and stumbling over my own words. I also made a major omission.I talked about presentation skills assessment criteria, learner problems and syllabus design, and how criteria can inform syllabus design. However, I did not mention any implications to such an approach. Ironically, I always tell my learners, you gotta mention implications when you talk about your research. Yeah, practice what you preach, Joanna!!Sadly enough, a friend who attended my talk, spelt this one out for me : (. 

Notes to my future online (and offline) presenter self:

Even though you think you have planned your presentation well, you haven't, so, plan more.

If you know anyone who knows anything about what you are talking about OR has experience presenting, ask for advice regarding your presentation. You may hear something helpful.

Final thoughts

I am really thankful to everyone at Sheffield university's English Language Center and Oxford University Press for organising/hosting the "Cultures of EAP" conference and giving me the opportunity to attend and present at the conference. The conference was about the Cultures of English for Academic Purposes (for more information go here). 

If you have presented online and want to share your own thoughts, feel free to comment in the comment section below. 

Till next time...

As of tomorrow (27/2/2015) I will no longer be posting any blog posts on Blogger. I am only going to be publishing via wordpress. All my posts have been moved to the new website. Please follow me there : D

www.myeltrambles.wordpress.com

Thanks for all the support so far

See you soon.....

                           Joanna

EAP writing

          Going from being a teacher, to being a learner

Isn't interesting how, sometimes you teach something, and then when you actually do what you are teaching, you see how hard it is? Well, that is what happened to me. I went from a teacher to a learner. I tried to go from what I teach, to actual practice, and this, my friend, was a tough cookie. But what am I talking about? OK, let's take things from the beginning.

Academic Writing. I teach it. I teach how to do research, how to use the research, paraphrase, summarise, make your voice stand out.I talk about having arguments and supporting them, but today while I was working on my Delta module 3 assignment*, I realised that this is really hard! So, let's see some typical learner problems, what I tell my learners and what I actually think.

Academic Writing: Learner (and my) problems

• Finding/ Choosing the right sources

I often tell my learners that they will/ should find a lot of sources to support what they want to say and that it is important to make their views stronger and valid by supporting them with research. I then go on to say, "When you do not have enough sources. Go to the library. Search more. Search, search, search. Be critical. Read what your sources say carefully. Make notes. If there is not enough research, synthesise information from various sources". 

What I really think: 

1. There is so much research out there and understanding what and how to use something is extremely hard. Searching online or in a library is time consuming. Not being able to access freely what you want is frustrating. This may lead your critical thinking down the drain and you may end up using what you found even though you now it is not always the best. It is like using a source just to use a source.
2.  There may not be enough research on what you want to argue because researchers focus on other things or because what you are writing about is fairly new or so on. In this case, you cannot support your views with a source, making your argument weaker than you want.

True story: Today, I wanted to write about some of the challenges NNS EAP students have when giving oral presentations and could not find sources mentioning anything about body language or intonation patterns. In fact, I could not support half of the things, I know as a teacher, are challenging for international students who have to give a presentation.

I often tell my learners that if there is not research out there that must mean something. But what does it mean in my case? Are these not implications or is it that someone has not written about them?

• Your first draft should not be your first draft

Or should I say, "always redraft before you give me your first draft." Often when I teach EAP, I ask to see a student's first draft. I always tell my students, "Please make sure that you have read, re-read everything before you give me your first draft. The better your first draft is, the better feedback I will give you".

What I really think: Spot on! My first draft was rubbish. I redrafted so many times before handing in my so called first draft. 

• Plan

I always tell my students, ''it is important to plan, make notes of what you will include in each section. This helps the flow of your ideas. It makes your writing more coherent and concise". Yes, it is time consuming and requires a lot of thought and coining of ideas BUT the end product is much better than just sitting on your chair and writing.

What I really think: Planning does require time and when you have been reading, reading, reading, the time constraints are really tight, it is much easier to start writing cause in your mind, you think you have your essay all mapped out. Unfortunately, the time you saved planning, is spent on redrafting, so I am adamant about the planning stage. It should be as meticulous as possible actually.

• Word count

I tell my learners, ''there is always a word count and you need to stick to it. It is important to be able to say what you want to say with fewer words and that is why you need to write and rewrite. Paraphrase and summarise.''

What I really think: Being able to summarise, paraphrase and be in the word limit requires a lot of training. It is not easy. Word count is something I always struggle with, I like to ramble and I am a chatter box (my blog is called myeltrambles for a reason). If I struggle, what do I think my students do? I need to see how I stick to the word count, and try to transfer the strategies I employ to my learners.

• Citing/Referencing correctly from the beginning

As the reference system I teach is the Harvard referencing system, one of the first things I show my learners is how to cite and compile a reference list. I do this during the first lessons. I do not just teach them how to paraphrase but I also focus on citations. I tell my learners, "if you leave the referencing and citations for the end, then it will be very time consuming (and boring). To make matters worse, you may even plagiarise and forget to cite a source (the word plagiarism always alerts them).Knowing when to use italics or '  should be something you do correctly from your first draft."

What I really think: Get it over and done with. As a writer of an academic text, you need to find out what the referencing system is and use it from the first line. Also start making the reference list when you first use the source in your paper. it saves you the turmoil of compiling a reference list at the end ( I do not like that. It takes so much time!).

• Tutorials/ Ask questions about your writing

First drafts are often followed up by tutorials. Students get a chance to ask questions about their first draft based on the worries / questions they have or their tutor's comments. I always tell my students to write these questions down, have a plan and ask, ask, ask. Some do. Others don't.

What I really think: Asking questions is necessary. Yes, I think I do know what I am writing about but I still need help. There are things I am already on the fence about, which is why I already have 5 questions about some of the things I wrote in my Delta assignment. I have already asked them. I actually sent a first draft with some questions.

Quoting my friend Vedrana, " being in your learners' shoes is a great way to see if you are focusing on the right things as a teacher!"

Word count: unknown : )

*Today is world Teachers' day and this is the day I wrote about what it feels like to do what you teach.Going from a teacher to a learner. If you ask me, a good teacher needs to know what it feels like to be a learner.......

Till next time.....

                     Induction Week
I started working at Sheffield University on the pre sessional English for Academic Purposes course last Monday, and time has flown without me realising it. There were no lessons this week. This week was all about teacher training and getting informed about how the English Language Center runs their EAP course.  It actually got me thinking about how important training sessions are and how useful these induction weeks are. So, my take on inductions in general and this week's induction in particular.
One Week of EAP input

Having taught English for academic purposes before and having attended 3 different EAP induction trainings, I strongly believe that a week long induction is necessary. Inductions that are shorter are not enough because the information can be so overwhelming that it is impossible for things to sink in in less than a week!

What goes on during the induction?

Well, you learn about lots of things during induction week. You learn about teaching techniques, you become familiar with what you will be teaching, you look at the materials thoroughly, you get Q & A sessions, you attend various workshops with an EAP focus, you learn about the campus, different technologies, assessment criteria and lots more.

And anything else?

There is also the social aspect. You meet the people you are going to be closely working with. You meet your director of studies before the teaching begins (before you start bombarding the poor lad with myriads of questions about how to do this or that! Notice how I am already using lad?!?!). Meeting the people you are going to be working with in a more relaxed setting is great because no one is stressed. Your conversations are  not just about who taught what and when, students and so on. There is a lot of teacher talk going on, but it is the good kind (teachers talking to other teachers about.....other stuff : P).

What I particularly liked about this EAP induction.

The English Language Center of Sheffield University divided the teachers in two groups. there was a group for teachers who had taught EAP before, and a group for those new to the EAPsphere.

So?

Well, instead of being introduced to EAP related issues or reviewing things I already knew, I got a chance to be a bit more reflective and shared my experience with other tutors who had  EAP experience.  It was actually a bit like a swap shop/ a think tank.

Anything else I like about induction week?

As a teacher who lives abroad, I also got a chance to acclimatise myself a bit better before getting into a classroom.

Icing on the cake?

One of the teacher trainers was Jennifer Spencer, one of the authors of EAP Essentials.

 

So, this was a good week. I learnt a lot and enjoyed it even more. Am I stressed? Yeap. A bit. But it is productive stress. The good one.

 

 

 

 

Till next time...........

Study Groups

Study groups: How, When and Why?
We all  include group work in class, but what about study groups after class? I was first introduced to the idea of study groups when I taught a presessional English for academic purposes course a few years ago. I now consider them a prerequisite for my students' progress, especially in EAP courses, but before I move on let's take a step back.

What is a study group?
Well, as you know or can probably guess, it is a group (of students) that studies/does tasks together usually as part of their homework. Although my experience of study groups is in an EAP context, I have used them with my other learners as well, so I firmly believe that they can be introduced to ANY group of learners, no matter why they are learning English.

How do I set up the groups?
Well, in my EAP classes, each group was formed based on where they lived (I wanted students staying at the same hall of residence to be able to work together) and their English level (I try to form mixed ability groups). I also put students of different nationalities in each group so as to deter the use of the same L1 In any other context you can group your learners based on their fluency and level. Also, make sure you designate roles. Someone will be head of the group, someone will report on the progress of their work etc. Make sure everyone is going to be doing something. Also, from time to time switch roles. You could also introduce the paper clip contribution procedure to ensure everyone has done something as part of their study group task. So, if each student has 5 paper clips, then that is how many contributions they must at least make to the group.

A twist: I tell my students to record themselves when they are in their study groups. But.....Why?
Well, back in the days when I first got my students into study groups, I asked them about it The discussion went like this:

Joanna: "So, how was it? Did you enjoy studying together?"
Students: " Yes, It was great. We really enjoyed it!"
Joanna: " Did it help you learn? Was it easier to do things with the help of your classmates?"
Students: " Of course, Joanna!!"
Joanna: "......Were you talking in English?"
Students: ...........
and then came the..."OK, so now I want you to record yourselves while doing your group homework, and....... you need to use English when in your study groups!"

The next day they all came in with big smiles on their faces and all volunteered to share their recordings.  "Here, Joanna!! Listen to us, we are talking in English!!" After that, I did not have to ask for recordings, they just brought them to me and when I forgot to ask for the PROOF they reminded me : )
So, recordings ensure that EVERYONE is using English and give my students the opportunity to listen to themselves and how they did as a group and as individuals in this group.

When do I use them?
Ideas for study group tasks
Well, the sky is your limit of course. Here are some suggestions for tasks:

• Any kind of project or infographic
• A research project
• A poster presentation
• A peer feedback activity where one student looks at the other's writing/research paper and offers advice
• A group play, poem song
• Reading a text and doing the exercises together
• many more.....

Why I like study groups:

• Students work together and learn from each other. Such groups help team building and promote cooperation.
• Everybody has to contribute which gives a sense of achievement to all learners.
• They have more opportunities to use English outside the classroom.

So, that's all folks! Feel free to leave a comment in the comments section below.

Till next time.....

                                         Picture taken from:http://hdw.eweb4.com/out/1088465.html

EAP: plagiarism

Academic Writing: Helping your students avoid plagiarism step one

The post about addressing plagiarism & paraphrasing

The big P word. Plagiarism. If you have taught English for academic purposes, you know this is a buzz term. As an EAP tutor, I am always going on about what plagiarism is, how to avoid it and I thought it was about time I wrote a short post about how I address plagiarism and how I help my students avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing sources. Now, this people is a tough cookie for both the teacher and the student!! This is my approach....

                                One step at a time

1. Address plagiarism
You need to be clear about what plagiarism is from the beginning and how it is important to cite other people's views and not just act as if they are your own. Show them videos about plagiarism from YouTube, give them definitions from your own sources, from dictionaries, the lots. It is important to inform them. Also, be clear about the tolerance of plagiarism because sometimes it may not be deliberate (if your students mistype a date for example, do they fail or do you give them another chance?). Another important thing you need to keep in mind is that different fields use different referencing systems, so steer your students towards the one they will be using in their discipline.
Fun ideas: get your learners to make little projects (videos/infographics/posters/animations) of what plagiarism is.
Not such a fun idea: Ask loads of Q&As as well as CCQs related to what plagiarism is.

2.The plagiarism police
"You will be caught!" : S. Yeap. Let them know that you will find the plagiarism. Ask your learners to bring photocopies of the texts they used and paraphrased. Tell them hey should highlight the paragraphs they paraphrased. Inform them of the different software you will be using to scan their papers and detect plagiarism. It is a good idea to suggest that they check their papers for plagiarism with the same software as well.
So, now your learners know what plagiarism is expect the following discussion (I know I have had it a zillion times!):

Student: "Ok! I don't want to paraphrase sources because it is hard and I will plagiarise."
Teacher: "Hmmmm or ..............."
Student:  "Yes, I will quote. I will use quotation marks for everything I put in my paper and I will copy their exact words and everything will be fine!"
Teacher: "It is not a good idea to have an essay full of quotes and no paraphrases. You also need to synthesise your information. So, you need to learn how to paraphrase and summarise information. Don't worry. You can do it! That's why I am here!"
Student: : ( .......turns to   : )

3. The anti-plagiarism toolkit
Time to bring the big guns in. Let's get down to business people!Your students need their anti-plagiarism toolkit. So, time to equip them with the strategies they need to avoid plagiarising their sources when using sources in their texts and not just quoting directly. Time to talk about paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing
This is the most important skill your students need to develop in order to avoid plagiarising sources. Of course, there are a million ideas out there and loads of activities you can use. I will just mention a few things I do. First, let me tell you though that my motto is start simple and then move on. Brick layering.
Start with some simple activities:

• Key word transformations

Well, yes, why not use key word transformations to engage your learners in exercises that will force them to paraphrase? You can begin with something that builds their general English skills. Remeber....baby steps. The good thing about key word transformations is that since they are part of the Cambridge language exam (FCE,CAE,CPE) you find loads of books and websites with key word transformation activities. So, if, for example,your EAP students are B2 level learners, you can use any key word transformation activities that are for that level. They also give you the opportunity to gauge your learners grammar knowledge and you can focus on structures they are struggling with. Engaging in key word transformation activities does not mean that your learners are out of the woods, it is just a way for them to practice rephrasing short sentences.

• The Academic Word List (word families-synonyms)

Your learners should download the Academic Word List and familiarise themselves with The Thesaurus (any thesaurus). Get your learners to write down word families and find synonyms. Enrich their academic vocabulary! The richer their vocabulary, the more lexical choices they have.

• Nominalisation/Active voice vs Passive voice

Find tasks that practice nominalisation and the two voices. Paraphrasing is not just about using different words, it is also about grammar. In order to avoid plagiarism, you gotta get your learners to change structures, word order, forms. Noun phrases and the passive voice are found very frequently in academic writing, so practicing them will help your students feel more comfortable with these structures, thus they will probably use them whilst paraphrasing.

• Noticing activities

Show your learners good examples of paraphrases. Use an overhead projector/smartboard and some sort of before and after examples and get them to notice the differences.I think it is better to do this as a group task and then follow up with some activities they have to do individually. Check to see if they have noticed all the changes and the differences in the structures, vocabulary etc. I get my learners to make tables of some common phrases and paraphrases/alternative phrases.

Illustration by Daniel Rhone accessed here

                The bigger picture
So, hopefully, with all this training, your learners can paraphrase at least at a sentence level, now it is time to paraphrase real texts. Time for some group work!
Divide your class into small groups. Give them a text and tell them to paraphrase it as a group. Then, tell the groups to swap their paraphrases. Once each group has another group's paraphrase, the new group needs to underline/highlight anything they think has been plagiarised and once they have done that, they give the text back to the original group. Each group now has their own paraphrased text with feedback from another group. They use this feedback to paraphrase more. The paraphrasing should go on until each group is happy with their final product.
I then suggest getting your learners to practise in pairs and finally individually.

Advice I give my learners: try to paraphrase into simple sentences and then aim for more complex structures.
Once they have paraphrased the sources they want to use, they cite them accordingly, and well, they will have a plagiarism free text.

Final thoughts
Good luck on your anti-plagiarism venture fellow teacher. Feel free to add any other paraphrasing tricks in the comments section. this post will be followed up by a post on summarising so talk soon : )

Till next time..........

I will be talking about plagiarism on the 9th of August at the Belta & Tesl Toronto Web Conference on Reading and Writing. Log on, will you? For more info go to the Belta Belgium or Tesl Toronto website

Conference logo courtesy of Belta Belgium and Tesl Toronto

EAP resources

                                My Top (online) EAP resources

After writing my EAP course overview post, I thought to myself, "why not write about my go to EAP websites?" So, here are a few of the websites I use when I teach my English for academic purposes classes. If you have never taught EAP before, I think these links are a great starting point. If you have, still read this post cause you may find something you haven't used (you can also add your own choices in the comments section).
Spoiler alert: not all the websites are focused on academic English, I do mention how I use them in an eap-ish way, though. So, here goes!

• The Cambridge Online Dictionary

It is an online dictionary of course! What I like about it is that you can press the little speaker buttons (on the webpage) and hear the AmE and BE pronunciation of the word you are looking for. 

• Anglia Ruskin University Library (Harvard referencing)

I like this site because if the reference system you are using is the Harvard referencing system, then you can find clear examples and great guidance of in-text citations and how to write the reference list as well.

• todaysmeet

You can use this site to hold short discussions with your learners. Use it like a discussion board (especially when blackboard's discussion board is down during the summer). It is similar to twitter as there is a characters limit. It is great for starting threads. Just go ahead and create a room and share the link with your students!

• Ted talks/Ted-Ed

There are many talks from subject specialists which you can watch in class with your students as part of a listening or presentations skills class. There are many videos to choose from. Two of my favourites: Jamie Oliver's award talk on obesity and Amy Cuddy's talk " your body language shapes who you are". You can also go to TED-Ed and create a lesson!

• British Council BBC

You have probably visited this site many times. Press EAP in the search tab and you will find many interesting links. You can get many ideas from this website about how to teach EAP, discussions about EAP and lesson ideas.

• British Council-Learn English

Here you can find the Writing for a purpose resource with lots of information on how to write assignments, exercises and examples of assignments (there are many different types of genres to choose from so it is great no matter what field your students are in). There are lots of tabs to choose from, and the information is very clear for us teachers and for our students as well ( they can look at this at home or in class)! Very well organised and easy to click through and find what you are looking for.

• turnitinuk

This is the software you can use to check your students' writing for plagiarism. You just need to create an account and submit the papers. After a while, you get the plagiarism results as well as the initial source of what was plagiarised. 

• Uefap

So, if you have heard of the Academic Word List, then this is a go to website. You can find the AWL (a list of words that researchers have concluded appear very frequently in academic texts) here. There are also tabs that focus on all the skills. You can either do some of the tasks with your students if you print them out or you can send them to this site as part of a self study task. Tell your students to press the materials tab and get down to work : ).

• MyBrainshark

This is where you students can upload their presentation and record themselves speaking while changing their own PowerPoint slides. They then send the presentation to your email account and you can listen to them talk whilst also looking at their PPT. You need to press the home tab, sign up for free and then you start. Registering can be quite tricky but do try it out. My students loved using it.

• Academic writing-Routledge website

If you have taught academic writing, you probably know Academic Writing: A Handbook for International students by Stephen Bailey. I often use material from this book especially for my lower level students. This book has a webpage and on this website you can find the answer key to the exercises of this book. There are also tabs with extra material, quizzes etc. Have a look at the plagiarism quiz tab!

• Dvolver moviemaker

Your learners can create movies and send them to you. You may wonder what the connection to EAP is, though. Well, I use this as part of my seminar skills class. Very frequently, I suggest/teach expressions my students can use when holding discussions, negotiating etc. I then tell them to send me little movies with these expressions in them. So, apart from practicing during a speaking task in class, they also get to write them down and make their own dialogues whilst having fun!

• One Stop English

You all probably know this website! There is an ESP tab and lots of material, some free, others you have to sign in for. Teaching tip: find the pdf file adopt Ivan. It is a great file to use when teaching seminar skills!

I hope you enjoyed this post. I know that there are many websites out there that you can use. I will be back with more suggestions in the near future. I look forward to reading any of your suggestions!: D

Till next time

EAP course

EAP courses: a short overview for the newbie : D

A couple of teacher friends who will be teaching EAP (English for academic purposes) have been asking me questions about what to expect and what it is like. Well, first of all, for me, EAP courses are fantastic (I have taught on 3 pre sessional courses and am going to Sheffield Uni this year for my fourth course, yay!) and a chance to go from my everyday General English classes to something different and challenging. Yes, it will be challengeing but don't worry you can do it!
 So, for all you newbie EAP tutors congrats on the new job, this one is for you!This post is a very brief but quite a concise descrioption of what to expect when teaching an EAP course for the first time.

What will I be teaching?
Syllabus of course may differ, from course to course, due to duration, learners' English level and many other factors but at core they are the same. Here is a brief description of what you will be teaching:

• Academic writing

Forget about the Ielts academic writing you have been teaching so far. Now, you will be helping your learners write research papers, assignments. You need to train them to use strategies like paraphrasing, summarizing information, synthesizing information and many others. They learn what a thesis statement is, a map, how to show their view in a research paper as well as how to support their main argument with other arguments. You also have to help them avoid plagiarism because there is almost next to zero tolerance of plagiarism!

• Academic Listening

Your learners will be attending lectures so part of academic listening is to prepare your learners for that.  Your learners will attend, listen or watch a lecture. Your role is to ensure your learners make use of the strategies that will help them identify what information is important, and what  is not. You will probably have to devote some time on teaching them how to take notes. May I suggest brushing up your knowledge on Cornell notes?

• Academic Reading

Here you will practice reading with your learners and engage in tasks that help them recognise the rhetorical functions so as to understand a text, skim, scan, understand the main and supporting ideas and guess the meaning of unknown words etc. so that they are able to understand complex academic texts, journals and books that are relevant to their studies.

• Presentation Skills

In your presentation skills classes you will be giving guidance related to how to give a presentation. You will teach them what to include in a presentation (usually PowerPoint) and what not to include. You will give advice on the appearance of their PPT slides and their delivery of a presentation. You will also practice Q & A segments so they are prepared to answer any questions that come their way and are relevant to their chosen topic.

• Seminar skills

Your students need to be able to express their views on issues related to their subject skills in study groups and in their classes. They need to hold discussions with their peers, negotiate, come to mutual decisions, argue their views and so on. This is what you will be doing in this class. You will equip your learners with the speaking micro skills that will enable them to do so.

• Assessment?

This depends on the EAP course you are teaching. You will definitely be assessing in one way or another your learners so be prepared for a heavy workload : )

What about technology?
The university you will be teaching at will probably have smart boards and computers everywhere. You will also probably have to use MOODLE or Blackboard as a learners' management system. I have never used MOODLE so I cannot talk about that, but as far as Blackboard is concerned, it is easy to use. You can share things with your colleagues and students. You can use it to email, use discussion boards, get your learners to submit research papers etc.

Buzz terms you may need to read up on

• critical thinking
• autonomous learning
• peer evaluation/feedback
• plagiarism

Feel free to add whatever you feel is missing. I have also written a post about top resources when teaching EAP so have a look here.
Till next time

Pre sessional EAP courses

Pre-sessional EAP courses..... bits and bobs

This post gives just a few tips on the whole pre-sessional EAP experience in the UK. So, before we move on you may ask, " What's a pre sessional EAP course?" In a few words, it is a summer course run by universities (usually their language centers) and the students attending these courses are international students (mostly Chinese) who have been accepted on an MA (or undergraduate program) by this or other universities. The aims of these courses are many but in a nutshell, the goal is to prepare learners for the university experience and help them improve their academic English. The courses are usually 4, 6 or ten weeks long.
I have taught on three courses at great universities with lovely managers and colleagues. It is a demanding but rewarding experience and I strongly suggest you try it. Some of my friends though ask me " How can I do it?" which gave me the idea to write this blog post. Here are a few suggestions:
Where do I begin?

• Draft a CV which is connected to your studies and teaching experience. Apart from a CV, it is important to write a cover letter too with a more detailed description of what you have done and how it is connected to the EAP job you want to get. Some universities have application forms and a CV or cover letter is not necessary, but having one always comes in handy, even if you just copy paste stuff from your CV to the application form!

Where can I find job adverts?

I go to two websites:

• Baleap: http://www.baleap.org.uk/jobs/
• Jobs.ac.uk: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/

How can I prepare for an interview?

You can't really prepare but if you want to read a bit on EAP, I would suggest reading EAP Essentials: A teacher's guide to principles and practice by Alexander, Argent and Spencer. Of course you can always do a Google search and reads loads about EAP.

What should I expect before/during an interview?

First of all, don't worry if you do not live in the UK because many universities hold telephone or Skype interviews. I only have experience of Skype interviews as I live in Greece. If you do live in the UK, well then you go to wherever the interview will be held : ).
If you get an interview invitation, some universities may ask you to do some tasks prior to the interview like provide a lesson plan of an EAP session you taught or assess a research paper.

What kind of questions do they ask?

Loads! Here are a few to get you thinking.

• Describe a difficult situation with a teacher or student and how you dealt with it.
• What are your three best teaching features?
• Tell us about your education/qualifications and how they have shaped your teaching.

and some EAP questions...

• What are the aims of a pre sessional course?
• What's the difference between an EAP course and an Ielts academic English course?
• What do you consider plagiarism and how do you deal with plagiarism? How can you help your students avoid plagiarism?
• What are the differences between EFL and EAP?
• What technology do you use when you teach EAP? Tell us a few of the EAP websites you go to when you teach your students.

they may also ask

• Why do you want to work for.......... university?
• What could you bring to our university? (yes, I got that one)

and many more questions.

So, that's all for now. Good luck with your interview : ) Feel free to add any other suggestions and tell me how you did!

Till next time......

 

The PPT "effect"

PowerPoint. A great tool. Before going on I must say that I am not a PowerPoint wizard nor are my PowerPoint slides and presentations the quintessence of PPT. I do have experience teaching how to give a PPT presentation though and have assessed many students presentations at an academic level (in the UK). So, I thought I would give my views on what makes a good presentation.
The slides:

• Avoid using too many colours on your slides. This is a presentation not a rainbow. Also, make sure  your colours do not contrast. Seriously, you do not want your audience squinting unless you are an eye doctor looking for patients.
• I would suggest font size more than 28pts and in the margin. The margin is there for a reason. Stick to it.
• Make sure the accompanying pictures are related to what you are saying. Sure teddy bears are great but they do not go with everything!
• Avoid long texts. Bullet points are more effective as your audience can focus on what is one the slides. If you cannot remember everything make notes on cards but please avoid mega giga texts. You will lose your audience who will be trying to read what you have written and not focus on what you are saying.
• Graphs/pie charts. They are very important. Try not to use raw data tables as they are tiring and do not reveal much information (your audience will have to figure out what you are trying to point out- is that what you really want?). Try using pie charts and diagrams which have percentages on them and different colours. Use visual aids which allow your audience to see what you are talking about.
• Animations. Now they are fun and flashy right? They are a great way to attract your audience but they may also have the opposite effect. Use them with caution and prefer using one or two types of animation patterns throughout your PPT presentation.

How the PPT should be organised:
Your PPT is like a book. Have a contents page=an overview. Your audience needs to know what you are going to talk about and this is a great way to guide him. Then you talk about what you want to talk about. After have a slide with references/bibliography/links and a thank you slide.
Your presentation:
Be confident. You made the presentation so no one knows better than you what it is about. Prepare. A good way to prepare is by recording yourself while presenting at home. Then you can look at yourself and improve what you have done so far. Look at your audience. Do not fidget but do move around a bit to make your presentation more vibrant. Please, oh please hands out of pockets : )
Interact with your audience whenever possible and turn off the lecture mode. You want your audience engaged not asleep. Also, allow time for questions otherwise why even have the presentation? You can just sit in front of a mirror and talk to yourself!
A practical point: Do not just save your presentation on a USB stick. Email yourself/save it on your hard drive. Also make handouts of your presentation. Some people like making notes and having your slides on paper with lines will help them with that. It is also helpful for people who cannot see from far away.
Finally, and this is probably the cornerstone of any presentation, Smile.
I would really appreciate any other ideas on the Do's and Don'ts of PPT presentations. They are used widely at conferences and are an integral part of the academic scene.