The American English Webinar and Facebook Live sessions are hosted by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. These professional development sessions for English teachers around the globe address methodological topics that foster interactive, student-centered language instruction. Here you will find corresponding downloadable presentations from previous events.

From Idea to Essay: Effective Strategies for Teaching Academic Writing

This webinar, “From Idea to Essay: Effective Strategies for Teaching Academic Writing,” argues that clear organization is the most important feature of effective academic writing. Participants will learn how to help students identify and successfully meet the purpose of a given academic writing task. It will also highlight helpful strategies to help students organize their writing in a clear and highly comprehensible way. Specific examples of these techniques will be given using a sample argumentative essay. Additional supplementary materials will be provided for use by participants when teaching their own academic writing classes.

Animating Your Instruction: Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the English Language Classroom

This session, “Animating Your Instruction: Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the English Language Classroom,” explores the popularity of illustrated stories among teachers and students alike and offers suggestions on how to use them to “animate” your classes. In addition to outlining some of the benefits and challenges of using these graphical texts, this session offers a number of activity ideas to inspire participants to integrate these creative resources into the way they teach reading, writing, critical thinking, visual literacy, and cultural competence. Resources such as comic strip generators and example comics will be shared.

Bringing Grammar to Life with Experiential Learning

This session, “Bringing Grammar to Life with Experiential Learning,” explores how to create authentic, communicative learning experiences when teaching English verb tenses; exciting approaches incorporating realia, role plays, group projects, and multisensory activities will be demonstrated.

Dynamic Ways to Check Answers and Share Responses in the EFL Classroom

This session, “Dynamic Ways to Check Answers and Share Responses in the EFL Classroom,” reviews ways to check answers and share responses in a variety of ways to keep students focused and engaged in their learning.

Building Global Citizenship through Intercultural Language Teaching

This webinar, “Building Global Citizenship through Intercultural Language Teaching,” shares research-based teaching strategies to help students develop intercultural communicative competence while sustaining their own cultural heritage. By integrating intercultural awareness in the EFL classroom, teachers can help students become curious, engaged, conscientious global citizens.

Co-Teaching: Strategies for Sharing and Improving the Teaching Experience

The benefits of professional collaboration are being celebrated more frequently in today’s schools. This shift away from the individual teacher, behind a closed door, with his or her own class of students has brought about a new method of instructional delivery: co-teaching. While the idea of sharing space and responsibilities with another teacher can be unappealing, challenging, or even terrifying to some educators, an effective arrangement can have many benefits.

Co-Teaching: Strategies for Sharing and Improving the Teaching Experience will discuss what is needed for a successful educational partnership. Several co-teaching models will be presented along with ideas for practical classroom applications. The webinar will address the potential positive effects of co-teaching, both on student learning and educators’ professional development.

Digital Literacies: Practical Approaches for the ELT Classroom

This session, “Digital Literacies: Practical Approaches for the ELT Classroom,” aims to clarify the multiskill “digital literacies” construct and explore how and why these skills can be integrated into English language instruction. Together, we will examine benefits and challenges associated with systematically addressing aspects of digital literacies in ELT settings. We will also review several adaptable activities designed to help ELLs develop the 21st-century skills that will serve them in the classroom and beyond.

Easy Reading Activities to Engage Students

This webinar explores how to engage students and help them develop the skills needed to make them better readers. The presenter demonstrates how to help struggling readers delight in reading while improving their comprehension, speed, and vocabulary through interactive classroom activities and practical strategies that encourage critical and creative thinking.

Foundations of TESOL Methodology

This session, “Foundations of TESOL Methodology,” introduces key theories and practices in language teaching, and participants will improve their understanding of language teaching methods and principles. We will begin with an introduction to research-based instructional approaches to language education. We will then discuss different approaches to and purposes for language teaching. As we conclude, participants will have the opportunity to consider how they can apply the language teaching methods and techniques that were presented to their particular teaching context.

To Correct or Not Correct? Ideas for Subtle Error Correction During Speaking Tasks

This webinar, “To Correct or Not Correct? Ideas for Subtle Correction During Speaking Tasks,” presents techniques designed to correct students’ grammar without interrupting the free flow of speech or the lesson. These techniques work with all levels and in a variety of settings. Participants will have an opportunity to consider when these techniques would be effective versus when other forms of traditional correction may be more helpful. The techniques presented can be added to teaching practices immediately, and teachers may realize they’ve already been using some of them.

Implementing Content-Based Language Instruction in your Classroom

“Implementing Content-based Language Instruction in Your Classroom” examines the needs of teachers who are currently using or interested in content-based language instruction (CBI) in the classroom. Participants will learn basic CBI concepts and examine methods to connect and integrate content learning and language instruction. We will look at sample materials and tasks for the classroom and consider how best to structure lessons. We will discuss methods for simplifying content to make difficult ideas easier to understand. We will also focus on the need for attention to subject-specific academic vocabulary. Finally, we will look briefly at different models for assessing student work in these contexts.

Learner Training - Developing Student Autonomy to Increase Engagement

This webinar, “Learner Training – Developing Student Autonomy to Increase Engagement,” stresses the importance of incorporating learner training into the English language learning curriculum. The presenter will address benefits as well as strategies for integrating effective learner training into the language classroom.

Needs Assessment for Course or Curriculum Design

In this webinar, we will first examine the needs assessment process by reviewing several methods, techniques, and options for gathering data about student needs. We will then consider how to use that information for course design, examining some basic course development steps and choices. We’ll also briefly explore how needs assessment principles for course design can translate to the larger task of curriculum development. Participants will gain a clear sense of design choices and decision points to consider and will receive tools and ideas to help them ensure that courses and curricula meet their students’ needs.

Podcasting in the Classroom

This webinar, “Podcasting in the Classroom,” explores an alternative solution to the challenge of providing students enough speaking and listening time in the class. Using freely available software, we can provide students opportunities for more speaking and listening via podcasting. Podcasts are music or discussion programs presented and delivered in a digital format. This webinar will explore where to find podcasts for classroom use, the software needed for students to make their own podcasts, and activities for the classroom to get students podcasting.

Practical Activities for Balanced Listening Instruction

Listening is a challenging skill to explicitly teach and learn, but it is one of the most essential skills for L2 students and speakers. Balanced listening instruction includes intensive and extensive listening, and practice with various subskills and strategies. This webinar focuses on student-centered exploration of the listening process, rather than comprehension as a final product. This webinar will introduce activities to develop students’ listening skills in all of these areas; these activities can make your listening instruction both easier and more effective.

Practical Applications for Critical Thinking in English Language Teaching and Learning

This session, “Practical Applications for Critical Thinking in English Language Teaching and Learning,” offers an easy way to determine how much Critical Thinking (CT) is already part of existing your materials and practical ways to weave more CT into them on a regular basis. By the end of our time together, we will have (a) reviewed some of the key features of CT and its importance as an element in any learning environment, (b) discussed ways to analyze current materials for CT content, and (c) identified practical ways to easily apply CT in language teaching and learning.

Random or Intentional? Putting Learners in Groups that Work

This session, “Random or Intentional? Putting Learners in Groups that Work,” helps participants reflect on and share the different types of EFL group work activities they use as well as the methods they use to create small groups. The session will also explore three grouping strategy categories and will review several fun, creative techniques for establishing effective groups.

Student-Centered Classroom Management: Addressing Classroom Issues with 5 Adaptable Forms

This webinar, “Student-Centered Classroom Management: Addressing Classroom Issues with 5 Adaptable Forms,” examines classroom management and student-centered classrooms before discussing five adaptable forms participants can use to manage activities in their own classrooms. The presenter will explain how and why to use each form and additional classroom management resources will be shared.

Teachers Working Together: A Successful Community of Practice

This session, “Teachers Working Together: A Successful Community of Practice,” explores best practices and innovative ideas that can be shared and cultivated in a collaborative and engaging professional network called a Community of Practice (CoP). Participating in a CoP can help educators gain a positive outlook towards professional development through increased autonomy-the ability to choose learning topics as well as how and when to learn. A successful CoP can grow and sustain a continuous professional education mindset, especially in contexts where educators may have limited options for training and development. In this webinar, we will define a CoP and its components, discuss the benefits of a CoP, share the successes of an ongoing CoP, and examine practical steps for building a sustainable CoP.

Technology-Enhanced Task Engagement in English Language Instruction

This session, “Technology-enhanced Task Engagement in English Language Instruction,” defines what a task is and why tasks matter for language teachers and learners. The session will present six facilitators of task engagement that teachers can consider when developing language tasks; these facilitators are: authenticity, interest, social interaction, challenge and skills balance, autonomy and structure balance, and feedback. Finally, we will discuss a variety of ways that technology use can be integrated into tasks to support the facilitators of learner engagement. Technologies that may be mentioned include Newsela, TedxESL, Storyjumper, Pinterest, and others.

'Hey Kids! Let’s Put on a Show!' Theater in the English Language Classroom

This webinar, “Hey Kids! Let’s Put on a Show! Theater in the English Language Classroom,” focuses on how to use theater in the classroom–from developing short, theater-based activities to putting on a student show. Danielle will answer key questions, such as these: 1. How do I choose a dramatic text for my students? 2. What language activities could I do with that text? 3. How do I cast and direct a student show? By the end of this webinar, viewers will have an enhanced understanding of using both small- and large-scale theater projects in your classroom.

Unraveling the Mystery of Academic Writing

This webinar “Unraveling the Mystery of Academic Writing” aims to raise awareness of the American English academic writing conventions. Discover key characteristics of the academic writing genre and explore the general structure of academic papers and articles. This session offers information and activities related to: generating and organizing ideas, writing for the reader, defining purpose, and writing the all-important introduction. For this webinar, you will find an online webinar recording, the downloadable presentation, and additional resources.

Let’s Play Ball: Using Cultural Themes to Teach English

Using thematic units in the EFL classroom is a great way to attach interesting and relevant content to language learning. Of particular interest to many learners are themes related to the culture and society of English-speaking countries. However, because of English’s unique role as the global lingua franca, teachers must remember that skills of awareness and adaptation to unfamiliar contexts are just as important as factual information. We cannot predict where, when and with whom our learners will use English. It is entirely possible that they may never use English with native speakers!

Still, all language use is related to culture in one way or another and, as such, culture must be part of what we teach. To that end, this webinar will demonstrate how teachers can use one theme in American culture and society, Baseball, to give learners a toolkit for deciphering and using messages that contain a deep cultural context, no matter their source.

Using Evidence in Academic Writing: Avoiding Plagiarism

This webinar “Using Evidence in Academic Writing: Avoiding Plagiarism” will examine cultural assumptions about the definition of plagiarism and how external sources should be used in academic writing. We will explore how and why EFL/ESL students can benefit from explicit instruction on referencing sources to avoid plagiarism. The presenter will share several practical tips and classroom activities related to teaching quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. For this webinar, you will find an online webinar recording, the downloadable presentation and additional resources.

Using Games in the Classroom to Build Vocabulary and Grammar Skills

This session, “Using Games in the Classroom to Build Vocabulary and Grammar Skills,” focuses on movement in the classroom. Participants will learn about fun games to help students improve their vocabulary and grammar skills!

Using Comics in the English Language Classroom

Using comics in the EFL classroom is a terrific way to incorporate the target language in a fun, engaging way. This webinar demonstrates the universality of comics for any language classroom, showing how multi-skill comic activities can be used with students of all ages and ability levels. Webinar viewers will experience several materials they can use in their own classrooms: they will learn how to use comics as an effective, real-world formative assessment measure and as a springboard for vocabulary and grammar acquisition.

Connecting Reading and Writing in Grammar Teaching: A Functional Approach

This webinar, “Connecting Reading and Writing in Grammar Teaching: A Functional Approach,” explores teaching grammar from a meaning-based perspective. Participants will learn key components of a functional linguistic approach to grammar teaching, analyze how particular words and sentences enact meaning, and consider the benefits of taking a functional approach when teaching English grammar. Participants will have opportunities to apply functional approaches to the classroom through close reading and unpacking language in authentic texts. Multiple classroom applications will be shared.

Discovering Grammar with Consciousness-Raising Tasks

This webinar “Discovering Grammar with Consciousness-Raising Tasks” introduces consciousness-raising task (CR tasks), which encourage students to notice characteristics and patterns related to form, meaning, and/or use while actively exploring the target grammar feature. This webinar will examine this inductive approach to grammar teaching through several activities that address a variety of grammar topics and student proficiency levels. For this webinar, you will find an online webinar recording and the downloadable presentation and resources.

Enhancing Learner Motivation in the EFL Classroom

This session, “Enhancing Learner Motivation in the EFL Classroom,” addresses how to enhance our own motivation as teachers and then explore ways to enhance the motivation of our students. We will anchor the discussion on Dörnyei’s framework of motivational teaching practices. The framework includes four essential components: (1) creating the basic motivational conditions, (2) generating initial motivation, (3) maintaining and protecting motivation, and (4) encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation. These four components guide teachers in transforming the language classroom into a powerful learning environment.

Integrated Skills: Combining Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Grammar

This session, “Integrated Skills: Combining Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Grammar,” addresses an integrated approach to teaching speaking, reading, listening, writing, and grammar skills. First, we will identify some challenges associated with combining language skill areas, and we will discuss options for overcoming these challenges. Next, we will explore how to develop and implement a variety of multi-skill instructional options including meaningful grammar activities, dynamic reading relays and jigsaws, interactive writing games, engaging speaking activities, and high-interest listening tasks. By the end of the session, participants will have developed a toolkit for conducting more interactive, learner-centered lessons that motivate students and hold their interest—teachers will be ready to adapt and use these innovative ideas immediately!

News They Can Use: Creating a Digital Newspaper

This session, “News They Can Use: Creating a Digital Newspaper,” introduces how to help your students discover and share their own voices! A student-generated newspaper for a real audience engages students in the authentic process of inquiry, drafting, and editing their own work. Creating pictures, stories, and features covering topics they care about motivates students to learn more language. Participants will also learn how to adapt this simple idea to high-tech, low-tech, or no-tech settings.

No-Prep Communicative Grammar Activities

This session, “No-Prep Communicative Grammar Activities,” shares engaging and dynamic grammar practice ideas that incorporate personally relevant student content. Activities for all levels will be included.

Adaptable Speaking Activities for Pairs and Groups

This session, “Adaptable Speaking Activities for Pairs and Groups,” explores several motivating speaking-focused activities that can be easily modified for different levels, student interests, and teaching contexts.

Teachers Helping Teachers: Peer Observation for Professional Development

Most EFL teachers have had the nerve-wracking experience of being observed for evaluation purposes, either during teacher training or as part of an institutional performance review. This webinar will explore how teachers can turn this stressful situation into a positive professional development opportunity by engaging in collaborative peer observations. Peer observations enable teachers to share teaching techniques, to supportively explore classroom challenges, and to mentor each other. Together we will examine how to structure and conduct peer observations, discuss how to create an environment that promotes trust and growth, and identify the benefits of being both the observer and the observed teacher. The webinar will also demonstrate features of the new Shaping the Way We Teach English: From Observation to Action video-based resource for EFL teachers.

Photography in English Language Teaching: Engage, Inspire, Create, Learn

This webinar, “Photograph in ELT: Engage, Inspire, Create, Learn,” shows teachers how to harness students’ access to their own cameras on their mobile phones and bring this technology with them right into the English language classroom. As this technology is something with which students are already engaging, teachers can jump right into utilizing its potential as a language-learning tool. This webinar will introduce and demonstrate photography-based activities and lessons for building skills in vocabulary, oral expression, creative writing, community engagement, and more for all levels of English learners and photographers.

Global Topics, Local Teaching

This webinar, “Global Topics, Local Teaching,” explains how to develop service learning activities in the classroom. Participants will learn about creating project proposals, presentations, service action plans and reflection activities. All of the lesson ideas are student-centered and can be adapted for both local and global issues.

Reflective Teacher Observation Model for In-Service Teacher Trainees

This article proposes the Teacher Observation Programme for in-service teacher trainees. The program is reflective, collaborative, and builds confidence. It enables teachers to grow in their ability to self-evaluate. Trainees who have made decisions about their own observation, who have created and used their own observational tools, and who have used reflective lesson plans will be better equipped to do action research. Some of the key components of the program are needs assessment, building rapport, summative assessment and post-observational feedback.

Strategic Corrective Feedback in the EFL Classroom

This session, “Strategic Corrective Feedback in the EFL Classroom,” examines how teachers can thoughtfully select and apply corrective feedback techniques that can help students produce more accurate language output.

Making Learning Fun: Interactive Activities To Build Student Motivation and Engagement In Your Classroom

This webinar, “Making Learning Fun: Interactive Activities To Build Student Motivation and Engagement In Your Classroom,” demonstrates how to spark students’ intrinsic motivation in the English language classroom. The presenter will outline tips for engaging your students in a meaningful way and present several student-approved activities that can turn even the dullest lesson into something fun!

Assess and Motivate: Student Portfolios and Self-Assessments in the EFL Classroom

“Assess and Motivate: Student Portfolios and Self-Assessments in the EFL Classroom” explores the use of portfolios and self-assessments that document the completion of performance-based tasks as a great way to motivate students and measure learning. The session introduces different types of portfolios that can be applied across all levels and macro-skills. Participants will explore how to develop a variety of authentic tasks including different types of portfolios, self-assessments, and other performative tasks, construct a workable rubric to measure achievement, and increase student motivation via self-reflective assessment and instructor feedback.

Classmates as Language Learning Allies: Activities to Encourage Student-to-Student Interaction

This session, “Classmates as Language Learning Allies: Activities to Encourage Student-to-Student Interaction,” provides ideas and strategies for structuring pair and group work to maximize student-to-student engagement, which can be especially important in contexts offering limited opportunities for out-of-class English practice.

Task-Based Language Teaching for Designing Grammar-Focused Communicative Activities

This session, “Task-Based Language Teaching for Designing Grammar-Focused Communicative Activities,” examines how task-based language teaching (TBLT) creates opportunities for students to use and develop language skills in the course of authentic communication. Research suggests that TBLT can make students aware of grammatical form, meaning, and use while also preparing them for real-world English language tasks. In this webinar, participants will learn how to plan grammar-focused communicative tasks using TBLT principles. Tasks presented in this session can be modified for different school settings, learners, and grammar forms.

Teachers Helping Teachers: Peer Observation for Professional Development

Most EFL teachers have had the nerve-wracking experience of being observed for evaluation purposes, either during teacher training or as part of an institutional performance review. This webinar will explore how teachers can turn this stressful situation into a positive professional development opportunity by engaging in collaborative peer observations. Peer observations enable teachers to share teaching techniques, to supportively explore classroom challenges, and to mentor each other. Together we will examine how to structure and conduct peer observations, discuss how to create an environment that promotes trust and growth, and identify the benefits of being both the observer and the observed teacher. The webinar will also demonstrate features of the new Shaping the Way We Teach English: From Observation to Action video-based resource for EFL teachers.

The Flipped Classroom: Preparing Students for In-Class Learning with Online Activities

This webinar, “The Flipped Classroom: Preparing Students for In-class Learning with Online Activities,” explores ways to enhance student learning through online activities, specifically by modeling one of the latest trends in education today: The Flipped Classroom. The presenter will answer questions regarding which Open Education Resources (OERs) can be used when flipping parts of participants’ classes, helping learners to become more autonomous, students’ opinions about flipped learning, and how different technologies can be used to blend teaching and learning inside and outside of class.

Lesson Planning 101: Mapping Activities for a Clear Path to Learning

We never go to a new place without knowing directions or having a map, so why would we enter a new learning experience with our students without knowing where we’re taking them? In this webinar, participants will learn to create “road map” classroom activities, starting with the final destination, or learning objective, in mind. Participants will get tools and techniques for keeping themselves and their students focused on achieving goals and maximizing effort for higher levels of learning!

Using Visual Literacy Skills to Encourage Communicative Language Practice

This webinar, “Using Visual Literacy Skills to Encourage Communicative Language Practice,” demonstrates how to increase learner engagement in the English language classroom by incorporating visual literacy skills. As an authentic and culturally rich tool, visual literacy may also enhance communicative language practice, critical thinking skills, and vocabulary development. Examples of how to incorporate a variety of images into the classroom such as visual advertisements, infographics, and signage will be provided. Language exercises focused on globally relevant visuals will be given special emphasis along with guidelines for adapting them to different language levels.

Two Frameworks for Teaching Culture and Critical Thinking

This session, “Two Frameworks for Teaching Culture and Critical Thinking,” explores the rationale for including culture as a principled area for study in the language classroom followed by an interactive walkthrough of a lesson in which listening and intercultural awareness skills are developed. Two tools, the Cultural Elements Framework and the Cultural Knowings Framework by Dr. Patrick R. Moran, will be utilized to delve deep into a cultural mystery with the ultimate goal of developing students’ ability to form critical questions rather than instant judgments.