Teaching English Today- The 4 Cs and beyond

Today, working in teams is the norm. But why is it that some teams click and others don’t? What lies at the core of effective collaboration? In this episode we’ll be looking at two key components that come up in studies time and again. We’ll also be exploring how we can help students to become more effective at working together.

As the new school year begins, it’s the perfect time to think about how 21st century skills can be integrated into the classroom. In this episode, I’ll be sharing practical ideas on how to do so, including ways to support student agency, strategies for effective communication when giving and receiving feedback, and a few activities to practise noticing - a prerequisite for creativity and critical thinking. I’ll also be looking at how we can help students to engage their critical thinking skills when dealing with photos on social media.

Welcome back!

Memorable talks often include stories because they help establish a bond between the speaker and audience. To do so effectively, stories need to be chosen and crafted with the audience in mind. In this episode we’ll be looking at how to considered, the structure, the importance of authenticity, and where to find inspiration.

In today‘s episode I am joined by Matthew Lovett, a former headteacher, now an inspector of schools in England and school governor. He shares insights into a couple of major changes in education in England over the past years, some differences between the independent and state sectors, the growing need for critical thinking skills, a student-led approach to teaching engineering in a prep school, why trainee doctors are being taught art, the importance of debating, and the current state of language teaching among other things. Do listen in to hear what he has to say!

Creativity and innovation are key components of design thinking, a human-centered approach to creatively solving problems. In this episode we'll be looking at what exactly design thinking is, the phases involved in the design thinking process, the kind of mindset people need, and how this creative process can be supported and used in the classroom.

Since ChatGPT’s emergence, there have been a lot of debates as to whether to ban it in schools. But does it really hinder critical thinking, problem-solving skills and student agency as some have claimed? On the contrary! In this episode we'll be looking at how these skills are essential for crafting effective AI prompts and evaluating the responses presented by the AI chatbot.

In this episode we'll be taking another look at the key skill of listening. Why is it that many of us tend to overestimate our listening abilities? What does being a good listener really entail? What can we learn from negotiators and journalists? And, of course, what can we do with students to help them focus and listen better? Join me to find out more!

In this episode the English and psychology teacher Katharina Wendrich joins me for a chat about storytelling, students and social media. We delve into how stories can help young people to discover who they are, how social media has changed the way we tell certain stories, how to help students deconstruct stories on social media, using Shakespeare to understand how perspectives can be manipulated, the importance of creating an emotional connection with your audience, as well as other ways to help students think more deeply about their stories and posts.

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Macbeth:

Romeo and Juliet:

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and interdependent, the importance of global competence has come to the fore. In 2018 it was even included in the PISA assessment test.

In this episode we'll be looking at what it is, how it differs from intercultural competence, factors that are key for its development, as well as at some thinking routines that can be used in the classroom.

The ability to communicate effectively is one of the mostsought after skills today. Yet even though we spend so much time sharing our ideas, we are not always able to get our message across clearly. Come and join me to find out how communication skills can be improved, what top business leaders do to get their ideas across, why non-verbal communication skills are key, as well as a few ideas for how this can be done in the English-speaking classroom.