I have set myself a little challenge to keep up my spirits and motivation. It's very simple - I am going to take photos of some stuff that I like, and then post a collage. It doesn't have to be anything big, for intance, I was happy upon noticing that my jacket matched my watch (accidentally, mind you). You are welcome to share some of yours. Maybe we could help each other find enjoyment in simple things? 💜🩵🩷 #burnout_resistance
#life
#random_musings
#motivation

🗣️ FEEDBACK 🗣️

Having discussed our good sides and areas for improvement, we decided to stick to feedback. To be specific, we are going to try to improve our Meaningful Feedback giving skills.

Why not just feedback? ‘Cause we are going to try to make the kind of feedback that will help the students improve. Which is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you teach groups.

That’s why, I am going to go through the following steps:

🌑 refresh my knowledge of different ways and reasons to provide feedback;

🌒 dig up some new ones;

🌓 use them with my students;

🌕 try to work out why some work and some don’t and for what reasons.

So I shall start reading up on feedback and sharing what I find here. Stay tuned! #methodology
#feedback
#work_at_school
#work
#CPD

I am procrastinating and fully aware of that. But do I care? Nah 🤪 #burnout_resistance
#life
#random_musings
#funsies

Feedback. What’s in the word?

The term was coined in 1920s, it began as an open compound noun and was used in the technological sphere.

When a cable grounds, the current at its end reverses; that is, flows into the cable (”feeding back”) instead of coming out of it. — Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Journal of the Franklin Institute, Jul. 1915 (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).

Feedback as we use it now i.e. "information about the results of a process" started being used in 1955.
It’s relatively new, and in the English language teaching methodology the meaning of this word is further expanded. What’s your take on the meaning of this word? #methodology
#feedback

Here are some possible definitions.
1. Feedback is a way to show how well the student's work aligns with the assignment, highlighting areas of achievement and improvement.


2. Feedback prompts students to think more deeply about their work, encouraging further clarification and challenging students to delve deeper into specific ideas.


3. Feedback offers advice and suggestions to students while their work is still in progress, providing guidance for improvement.


4. Feedback combines elements of prompting deeper thinking with offering suggestions for improvement, correcting current mistakes and providing suggestions for better language use. #methodology
#feedback

This is what happens when your employer asks you to complete a table with all your certificates (but this is not all of them). This is also the moment when you kinda regret doing all that, as it just means more work 😅
#work #work_at_school

#funsies #life #books #Russian

So, what is feedback? The definition is actually a combination of all the points in the poll. To make a long story short, it’s anything the students get back as the result of their work.

Beware of the fact that corrective feedback on grammar and vocabulary is not be-all and end-all, it’s just a part of the whole feedback notion.

However, today I want to tell you about just that – corrective feedback on grammar and vocabulary. The picture shows what I typically do with my only adult student. Her level is Intermediate, she is extremely motivated and ready to do pretty much anything and everything, that's why I adore her. She is such a breath of fresh air! #methodology #feedback #motivation

Enough singing praises to her, so, corrective feedback.

The first column is emergent language and some paraphrased stuff that originally sounded a tad bit too Russian. The second is grammar mistakes. BUT! I do praise her accomplishments as well, don’t worry.

Sometimes we discuss her errors and mistakes together, sometimes I assign it as HW (like in this particular case). In the next lessons we will recycle the vocabulary, and dedicate some time to the repeated grammar mistakes.

It’s a good idea to keep track and record of your student’s mistakes so that you actually actively notice what the repeated slips are. I keep them in a separate presentation and leaf trough the slides every 2-3 weeks to see what needs to be revised. And, of course, to see what mistakes are slowly disappearing. Drawing your student’s attention to their improvement is a MUST.

However, it’s virtually impossible to have the same system with groups. Seems like I’ll have to continue looking for a way that would balance efficiency and application, yay (no ☹) #methodology #feedback #motivation

A pan in an ELT blog! What the hell? Bear with me, it’s relevant. Well, kinda…

This monstrosity appeared in my house after I had asked my husband to order a big pan. I didn’t even fathom that the non-industrial ones come in this size, as I had never seen such a pan in any of the households I had the honor of visiting.

I was frankly amazed by the sheer size (and weight!). And when I asked why my husband got this one, he just shrugged and replied something along the lines of “Well, you said you wanted a big pan”.

It got me thinking about the difference of understanding we have even for such seemingly simple notions as “big”. We need to be aware of such things to be good at communication in both private and professional life. For instance, if we tell a student to do something ASAP, well, there might be a problem. For us, ASAP might be immediately after the lesson, for the student it might be after they have beat the latest boss in their favorite game. It’s all about priorities, isn’t it?

The ASAP example was pretty simple, but this situation highlighted the importance of ICQs and criteria one more time. To do a task to our exacting standards, students first need to be aware of what those are. What’s more, we also need to MAKE SURE that they are in the know, so to say. And to do that, we need ICQs, even if sometimes they sound silly (downright stupid).

I would appreciate you sharing any sudden insights connected to anything, even the most mundane things. Please, do comment on this message ASAP.

🌍 Do you write a comment? – YES
🌍 Does it have to be deep? – NO
🌍 Is ASAP sometime in the next century? – NO
🌍 Is ASAP as soon you have read the message? – YES

#random_musings #methodology

⛴ NAVIGATION 🚢

Apparently, I’ve been doing it all wrong until this very moment. So here are the hashtags for this channel. Most of them are self-explanatory as you can see. I might add to them later on.

⏳Work
#methodology #work_at_school #conference #CPD #burnout_resistance #activities_ideas #AI #lesson_materials #A2 #B1 #B2 #exams #listening #failure #lesson_ideas

🦔 Random Stuff
#life #books #rant #hobby #random_musings #funsies #motivation