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0 May - June Issue 2014 mELTing Pot


From the Editors

Dear Readers,

The school year is nearly over, and most of us are preparing for the summer ’holiday’, right? At this time of the year, we are happy to present the 2014 digital edition of our mELTing Pot magazine, full of flashbacks on prominent ELT events, ELT-related adventures and experiences, travels, plans, visions and dreams that have come true.

In this present edition, you can read about miscellaneous reminiscences of high-profile professional events such as IATEFL Conference in Harrogate, IATEFL Slovenia Conference, IATEFL-Hungary Conference, Global Issues SIG and ELT-related competitions. These reminiscences abound in invaluable ideas, thoughts and experiences as well as piloted methods ready to be used in class.

Here are some HIGHLIGHTS from this present issue:

“Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve today’s problems with the same mind-‐set that created them”. We need a change in mind-‐set. To me, being an educator means planting the seeds for such change.” To learn more about awareness-‐raising, global issues and how the author is related to all these, go to page 3.

“To my pleasant surprise I was informed in an email about a new opportunity, the Országh László Scholarship offered by Akadémiai Kiadó… I usually share my experiences with my colleagues and give them the same advice as my mentor teacher once gave me in Gothenburg...” To get to know the author and familiarize yourself with the experience Országh László Scholarship has to offer, browse through the article on page 5.

“As a newcomer, I was positively surprised at the congenial atmosphere that characterised not only the rooms where sessions were held, but also the corridors and communal areas where everyone was friendly towards everybody else. Participants who had met before greeted one another with heartfelt joy, and many a new friendship was struck up through informal exchanges of experience and discussions on a range of classroom-‐related and personal matters.” To find out who ‘the newcomer’ is and which event he circumscribes, check out the article on page 7.

“For those of you who have not yet been to Slovenia you have to know that if one organizes a conference there, it is similar to being an athlete who is lucky enough to race on a track that is ten meters shorter than the other competitors’.” If you are curious about the place where the conference took place and who represented IATEFL-‐Hungary, please go to page 9 to take a look at the article.

“But besides all these ‘extra-‐curricular’ chats, what really stood out at Harrogate? For me, there were three things: vision, vocabulary, and variation.” If you are keen on learning more about a highly inspirational event, please read Rachel Appleby’s article on page 12.

“She is full of positive energy and so is her “MALL” (Movement Accompanied Language Learning) Method. And I have to warn you, it’s contagious.” If you want to find out who ‘She’ is, read Dolores’ letter on page 14.

Don’t miss the QUIZ on page 16.


“Their invention was inspired by music and the relations between melodies and their first applicable usage can be found in teaching maths (multiplications, ratios, fractions etc.). The silent method presents the first practical application of…” What is this short excerpt about? To see how this ‘what?’ is related to our lower primary learning experience and SNE, do not miss Gregor Pirš’s article on page 17.

“Our approach focuses on breaking out from an everyday teaching attitude and it reinforces creativity, language and culture in an enjoyable way. During the competition students have to use several interpersonal skills to complete the tasks…” To find out more about the tasks and the event involved, check out Bea Madarász’s article on page 22.

We, on behalf of the Committee of IATEFL-Hungary, hope you will enjoy reading our ePot and we wish you a great summer full of dreams, visions and plans for the future by this issue and the following quote, which will never fade with time:

“A child [student] is a person who is going to carry on what you have started ... the fate of humanity is in his hands.” (Abraham Lincoln)

The Editors:

Bea Price László Zsolt Zságer

[email protected] [email protected]

Credits: We would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the contributors for their articles

and Frank Prescott for proofreading.

Source: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/14940764.jpg


SPOTLIGHT ON GLOBAL ISSUES SIG MARGIT SZESZTAY works at the Department of English Language Pedagogy at Eötvös Loránd University. Her special areas of interest include community building, group dynamics, and learning from group interaction. She is the coordinator of the Global Issues Special Interest Group of IATEFL. Contact: http://gisig.iatefl.org/contact

Learn more at: http://gisig.iatefl.org/ English for change! Our SIG aims to bring together professionals who see themselves as educators as well as language teachers. To illustrate how our members see this educational role, here are a few responses to the question: why did you join our SIG?

“I teach English in Oelde, Germany and I joined GISIG because I am interested in getting my students to think critically as well as speak English well.”

“I am a teacher trainer in the UK and I joined GISIG because I am passionate about empowering young people to be the future generation in a more equal society.”

“I am a university teacher in Londrina, Brazil and I joined GISIG because I believe English language education is a part of a larger agenda to raise awareness about global interconnections.”

With 140 members, we’re one of the smallest SIGs. Does this reflect a lack of interest among IATEFL members in bringing real-world issues into the classroom or developing critical thinking? I don’t think so. We tend to see ourselves as teachers of young learners, teacher trainers, mentors, business English teachers, etc., with a variety of professional interests. A concern for global issues is not typically part of our professional identity. About six years ago at our annual conference, there was an excellent but poorly attended session on “ELT and sustainable development”. A friend attending the conference told me: “I’m interested in sustainable development—but not when I come to a teacher’s conference. Here I’d rather attend a session on using songs, storytelling, or drama activities—these are the things that relate to what I do in the classroom”.

While I can understand the above sentiment, my identity as a teacher and teacher trainer has undergone a radical change in the past few years. I now see the students in my classrooms as world citizens, in addition to being Hungarian or Turkish, teenagers or young adults, visual or kinaesthetic learners, and so on. With no exception, all my students are inhabitants of a planet with diminishing resources, facing crises of an unprecedented scale. Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve today’s problems with the same mind-set that created them”. We need a change in mind-set.

To me, being an educator means planting the seeds for such change. My main challenge is to be an agent for change, while bearing in mind that my main responsibility is to teach language; to challenge my students to think creatively and compassionately, and remember that most of them come expecting to prepare for exams and to have fun. For


teachers facing similar challenges, our SIG has a great deal to offer. If you want to find out more about our activities and resources, our website (gisig.iatefl.org), expertly managed by Laszlo Hajba, is a good place to start.

To read about what our SIG stands for, visit the ”Newsletter Highlights” section where you will find some key articles from our past publications. Each one starts with a short introduction written by a committee member telling you why that particular article is a relevant and important read today. “Food Issues’’ was an innovative event which has resulted in a collection of resources on the topic of food, now available to all teachers. Our Events Organiser, Lindsay Clandfield writes:

In October of 2013, we held a month long online event. During this time we invited teachers, teacher trainers and writers in our field to contribute their ideas on how we can teach “food” with a conscience. We had contributions come in via our Facebook page, our Twitter feed and our website. Teachers shared all kinds of great articles, images and videos. Topics as varied as hunger and food scarcity, advertising, eating disorders, local food, sustainable agriculture and labour issues were addressed.

One of the outcomes of the event is our Pinterest page. Go to the “Resources” section of our site, click on “Food Issues”’ and browse through the classroom activities, visuals, lesson plans, videos and articles. In October 2013 Luke Prodromou ran a thought-provoking webinar for us: “The Dickensian Turn: Critical language education in a time of crisis”. Again, you can find more information on our website.

In January 2014 we launched a new feature: “E-lesson Inspirations”, a collection of powerful videos with ideas for using them in the classroom. These short clips and the accompanying classroom activities serve as another example of how language teaching can be combined with teaching for change and gives voice to alternative viewpoints. Units include: ”Football Mad”, a poem performed by Benjamin Zephaniah with activities that invite students to explore its message, ”Pale Blue Dot” in which astronomer Carl Sagan offers a cosmic perspective on our world, and ”Black Friday” featuring Kalle Lasn taking a critical look at our consumerist society. Here is an example of comments posted on our site:

I like these lesson inspirations. There are so many good ingredients out there but these inspirations put them together into wholesome snacks. And what’s good and what will keep them good is the invitation for multiple perspectives (including the obvious for and against) not just a single ”good” viewpoint, because people automatically dig in against preaching, even when it’s good. I do. (Adrian Underhill)

Finally, as you’re reading this, the IATEFL Conference in Harrogate is behind us. Our PCE

will have focused on using games and simulations for raising awareness of global issues, and our SIG day will have included an innovative Four Corners Dialogue on the topic of ”Teaching as a political act”. If you too believe that ELT can help to widen horizons, raise global awareness, and challenge our students to be creative, please join our GISIG community!

For more resource tips on global issues, visit http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/issues.html


For the first but not the last time at the IATEFL-Hungary conference

AGNES CSEKE graduated in English Language Teaching from Eotvos Lorand University in 2001. Later she obtained a complementary degree in English Literature as well as Scandinavian Studies. She used to work as a freelancer teacher of English and Swedish at several language schools for ten years. Then she felt she had a calling for teaching children and she started to teach in a primary school. She is glad to be the member of the teaching staff at Vecsesi Halmi Telepi Primary School at the moment. She participated in a Comenius teacher training course in Portsmouth, England, where she learnt how to teach English to pupils with special needs. Contact: [email protected]

Afterwards it proved to be unwise not to take seriously the advice of my mentor teacher about joining IATEFL during my practice as a teacher assistant in Sweden. I had been working in state education for half a year when I heard about the conference arranged by the sister association in Hungary but I did not have the time and financial means to participate. Later on I purchased membership at a professional training event. I was even considering attending the 2013 IATEFL-‐Hungary Conference but I missed the early bird application. To my pleasant surprise I was informed in an email about a new opportunity, the Országh László Scholarship offered by Akadémiai Kiadó. I felt enthusiastic and submitted my application, in which I described my professional background and motivation. Thanks to the scholarship I attended my first IATEFL-‐H Conference together with three other awarded colleagues between 4 -‐6 October, 2013. We were also presented with a free one-‐year membership.

The 23rd IATEFL-‐Hungary Conference surpassed all my expectations with its colourful programme, professional fizz and inspiring atmosphere. The practical and useful methodology workshops filled me with enthusiasm and enriched me with a lot of knowledge and teaching ideas for the new school year. Since I work in a primary school, I chose sessions that can be useful for my work there, with such topics as drama in the primary school, organising school competitions, conflict management through successful communication, using presentations to trigger interest and production, educating for a healthy future and risky online decisions by younger teens. The programme of the Young Learners SIG proved to be especially rich, fun and useful. We could learn games involving movement, the uncommon usage of common school objects and digital tools for enhancing the motivation of the “Generation Z”.

Furthermore, I found that it provides a mental refreshment to listen to presentations in philology by renowned lecturers with remarkable lecturer skills. Since the completion of my university studies I had few experiences of such occasions. Among the topics were motivation in learning a second language, the difference between English as a lingua franca and English as a second language, as well as the challenges and opportunities of the changing world of ELT.

Among the conference events, there was a professional exhibition where book publishers and professional organizations presented their work. This is where I learned about the dictionary user competition arranged by Akadémiai Kiadó.


We had the opportunity to join cultural events in the evening, such as a theatre performance and multicultural folk dance event. This gave us the chance to exchange ideas with newly met colleagues or just have a pleasant chat.

I find it important that more and more teachers learn about the IATEFL-‐Hungary Conference, which is an excellent opportunity for professional development and recharge. As a member of IATEFL-‐Hungary you can take part in inspiring professional events continuously. Besides the conference, there are events organised by the SIGs, the Creative Café club and professional development courses. I usually share my experiences with my colleagues and give them the same advice as my mentor teacher once gave me in Gothenburg...

ORSZÁGH LÁSZLÓ SCHOLARSHIP 2014

Learn more at: http://www.iatefl .hu/?q=node/223

The scholarship is funded by Akadémiai Kiadó and is offered to five English teachers who teach in Hungary.

The award consists of a year’s IATEFL-‐Hungary membership, registration for the 24th annual IATEFL-‐Hungary Annual Conference from 3th to 5th October, 2014 in Veszprém, a maximum of two nights’ accommodation, travel costs to the venue of the conference and back, and Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and Saturday dinner.

Submission date: 30th June 2014


Akadémiai Kiadó Finances Teachers’ Conference Participation

ÁRPÁD FARKAS resides in Dunakeszi, where he has been teaching English for three years. The language school he works for specialises in teaching small groups and tutoring learners one-to-one. Arpad is pursuing an M.A. in applied linguistics, and his research focuses on English teachers’ language awareness. Contact: [email protected]

As one of the first recipients of Akademiai Kiado’s Orszagh Laszlo Scholarship, Arpad Farkas offers a few glimpses of the 23rd annual IATEFL-Hungary conference to prospective attendees of the next one.

It was during the summer of 2013 that I realised I wanted to gain first-hand experience of the big annual IATEFL-Hungary event, which I had heard of many times before. Every account I was given had praised the conference, so my curiosity was eventually piqued, and I visited the website of IATEFL-Hungary to find out how I could attend the forthcoming conference. While browsing, I stumbled across a

notice that was announcing the Orszagh Laszlo Scholarship, for which anyone who had not attended the conference before was eligible. Named in commemoration of the greatest Hungarian lexicographer, the Scholarship caters for English teachers who live far from the conference venue and otherwise may not be able to attend the convention. Accordingly, the Scholarship covered the travelling expenses as well. I read on and discovered that Akademiai Kiado was also funding the grant winners’ accommodation for the duration of the event as well as their meals. The icing on the cake was a year’s IATEFL-Hungary membership, which was also included in the Scholarship. In the light of such an enticing opportunity, I did not have to think twice about submitting my application. A few weeks later I was notified that I, along with four other lucky applicants, had been awarded the Scholarship. From then on, I was looking forward to the event immensely. Upon arrival at the conference venue, I spotted a few familiar faces in the registration area, but the strangers outnumbered the people I knew. Nevertheless, I felt at ease because we were all given a very warm welcome in the theatre hall where the presenters, the participants and the exhibitors were greeted by the President and the Patron of IATEFL-Hungary. The first plenary talk followed shortly, and it was a genuinely inspirational lecture that set the mood for the rest of the conference. Thereafter, an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with IATEFL-Hungary presented itself: The Annual General Meeting (AGM), during which a detailed overview of the association’s work was given and members of the Managing Committee were (re)elected, took place in the afternoon. The AGM is open to all members of IATEFL-Hungary, and as a new member, I took great interest in the proceedings, which not only presented me with interesting insights into how the Association works, but also provided information on the make-up of the organisation, thereby making my connection to IATEFL-Hungary more personal. Next, participants had a chance to socialise at a reception, and the evening was topped off with a theatrical performance.


Saturday was the longest and most fun-packed day of the conference. It started off with Zoltan Dornyei’s plenary talk on motivation. First-time conference-goers will be told they should never miss a plenary. Professor Dornyei’s lecture, which was of interest to language teachers and applied linguists alike, made me realise that the advice is worth being heeded as it was a highly educational, but also personal and down-to-earth talk. Judging by the rapturous rounds of applause at the end, I was not

the only one who enjoyed the plenary. It was, however, only the beginning of what turned out to be a truly instructive day. There was an abundance of sessions to choose from, covering primary and secondary education as well as a host of other areas (e.g., professional development) that may be of concern to language teachers. I spent the rest of the morning being amused and simultaneously educated by David Hill, who held a workshop on the (ir)relevance of British culture to the present-day EFL classroom. Then, it was time to have lunch, and the holders of Akademiai Kiado’s Orszagh Laszlo Scholarship were given the red-carpet treatment: The publishing house booked us a separate table where we enjoyed a meal together. Meanwhile, the representative of Akademiai Kiado sketched out the plans they had in the pipeline, and we also used the occasion to learn about their (currently ongoing) dictionary usage competition for primary and secondary school students and teachers. Having received food and food for thought, we rushed off to catch Professors Seidlhofer and Widdowson’s lecture on the connection between ELT and English as a lingua franca. The afternoon sessions, once again, provided a wide choice of seminars to attend, and later a party with live music brought this vastly stimulating day to a conclusion. The Special Interest Groups (SIG) all met on the last day of the conference, and I had the pleasure of participating in the Culture and Literature SIG’s session, the first part of which was devoted to the Hungarian Pestalozzi Network (something I had not heard of before), and in the second part we had a hands-on experience of children’s contemporary fiction (i.e., actual books were passed round and snippets were read). Each of the above-mentioned lectures and workshops was thought-provoking and often practically helpful, but what I must highlight in addition to the intellectual value of the conference is its social facet, which proved to be equally important. As a newcomer, I was positively surprised at the congenial atmosphere that characterised not only the rooms where sessions were held, but also the corridors and communal areas where everyone was friendly towards everybody else. Participants who had met before greeted one another with heartfelt joy, and many a new friendship was struck up through informal exchanges of experience and discussions on a range of classroom-related and personal matters. In retrospect, I think the conference sowed the seeds of professional growth and enabled its participants to widen their personal learning networks. Let us hope that the laudable cooperation between IATEFL-Hungary and Akademiai Kiado will continue to introduce teachers from all over Hungary to the world of ELT conferences for years to come.


International IATEFL Slovenia Conference

2014

BELA TOTH is a teacher of English language at the Katedra Language School, Budapest. He is also a freelance teacher and interpreter. Having spent six years at the language school he is now the head teacher and supervisor of the Blended Learning Program. He is interested in technology and its implementation in the classroom. He is an enthusiastic sports fan but unlike most teachers, he also plays them in his free time. He currently resides in Budapest in his fifth district apartment enjoying the big city life. He can be contacted at [email protected] and is always happy to meet up for a quick coffee and chat about ELT or anything else.

For those of you who have not yet been to Slovenia you have to know that if one organizes a conference there, it is similar to being an athlete who is lucky enough to race on a track that is ten meters shorter than the other competitors’. This whole country is so charming that it is guaranteed that all participants will have a good time. The beauty of nature, the serenity of the mountains – or the seaside if you wish – all contribute to make Slovenia a perfect location for gatherings like the IATEFL conference.

The length of this article does not permit the listing of all the interesting presenters, but if we really want to grasp the unique atmosphere that surrounds us in Terme Topolsica I believe I should talk about the location and the facilities first.

The conference is held in a spa resort with swimming pools, sauna and health center. One can relax in the pool, go for a massage or take a stroll in the pine woods after meals. Teachers who I know are not the least bit used to luxuries like these. So at the beginning everyone – including me – had a sense of disbelief. A voice in our head said: “Is this really for us? Can we really forget the daily worries and relax?” And the

answer was: “YES!” And after the first shock teachers started to loosen up. As we ate at our buffet, our smiles widened. As we relaxed in the pool, our muscles relaxed. And as our bodies gave in to the comfort offered by the spa, our minds also started to rest and we came into a calm, but at the same time, creative state that lasted all through the weekend.

Also the hotel and the village itself are small enough to keep participants on site or close while not too small to be boring. This means that there are a lot of opportunities to talk with everybody. In the café, the restaurant, the swimming pools, the saunas, on the corridors or just waiting for the elevator or strolling in the park, one has countless little chats with other members in a very relaxed and informal way. For instance, at larger conferences one never really has the chance to approach


speakers as casually as here where the opportunities for a talk present themselves everywhere. At a typical conference if you are lucky you can run into speakers like Jeremy Harmer or Jamie Keddie and talk with them for maybe a couple of seconds while others are waiting behind you for their turn. In the IATEFL Slovenia conference, the formalities disappear and talks with presenters are real discussions, not just some polite words exchanged.

And since the group of participants is kept together by the location – a lot of conference partakers stayed in the hotel for the weekend, even those who lived relatively close – there were always programs to build community throughout the day. On Friday night for the romantic and passionate there was a poetry evening with Steve Bingham and Jeremy Harmer. I have to admit that I skipped this, not because of the lack of sensitivity in me but because the delicious dinner combined with the sharp mountain air lulled me into deep sleep. I also missed the guided gymnastics in the swimming pool in the mornings at 7.30 and the grape bath for hands – really – but I guess both are forgivable sins. However, I did not miss the ultimate movie quiz on Friday night and I have to admit that I danced the night away on Saturday with dozens of other cheerful teachers. I also took a long walk in the surrounding park and into the village and visited the hot pools more than once – especially in the evenings when the water was lit by colorful lights from below.

When we decide to take off four days and participate in an event like this, we have different aims. Some of us arrive with a desire to further develop their knowledge in ELT methodology. Some of us come for networking purposes or to meet colleagues we have not had the time to see for a while. Others again come mainly to relax, to quit the everyday routine and be immersed in the flow of the international community of English teachers.

To be able to do all this one needs a lot of energy. Listening to presentations and attending workshops all day, running from one room to the other while trying to talk to people drains you quickly. With most conferences the problem is that at the end participants go back home worn-out and return to the daily toil in the same shape as they arrived. Terme Topolsica actually replenishes your energies rather than draining them and at the same time

offers the chance for professional development by high-quality presentations and workshops and excellent networking opportunities. I believe that without leaving one’s daily troubles behind one will never be able to partake in anything as deeply and productively. Most conferences fail to realize this and concentrate too much on professional excellence while forgetting other equally important factors. IATEFL Slovenia is not only a professional treat but a treat for the tired body and soul. The key word to summarize this conference I think is balance. Terme Topolsice achieves balance in professional content, networking, entertainment and the opportunity to relax.


Learn more at: http://www.iatefl.hu/?q=node/235

In cooperation with:

Regional English Language Office for Central and Southeastern Europe Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Regional-English-Language-Office-for-Central-and-Southeastern-Europe/147478492022560

The summer course is an excellent training opportunity to learn about practical Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methods, motivating cross-curricular cooperation, developing ICT skills, focusing on American arts, and networking. We invite you to join upper primary and secondary school teachers from across the country for this exceptional professional opportunity!

Topic of the course: Learning about practical CLIL methods, motivating cross-curricular cooperation, developing ICT skills, focusing on American civilisation.

Aims: to give participants the chance to learn about the latest trends in teaching through art, museum pedagogy and a digital classtool (fakebook); to provide participants with teaching skills, techniques and knowledge they can implement in their own teaching contexts; to provide participants with ready-made activities and enable them to create their own teaching materials; to give participants a chance to build a network and start cooperation; to give participants a chance to do an art project without any specific previous art education.

Course venue: Bibó István Gimnázium, Kiskunhalas

Accommodation: Csipke Hotel, Kiskunhalas, in 2-3 bedded rooms

Date: 15 - 18 July, 2014.

Course fee: NONE! The course is completely free, including training, travel costs, accommodation and meals!


The flipped conference: at home or abroad? RACHEL APPLEBY has taught English for International House and the British Council in Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, and Hungary, where she now lives. Since 1993 she has focused mostly on teaching English to in-company students, and, more recently, to University students. She now also works at ELTE University in Budapest, teaching methodology, language, cultural studies and communication skills on the BA and MA programmes, both distant and full-time. RACHEL is also a CELTA and Business English teacher trainer. She is co-author of OUP’s Business one:one Intermediate+, Pre-Intermediate and Advanced. She also co-wrote the Teacher’s Book for OUP’s Business Result Advanced, and is co-author of two levels of the new edition of International Express (2014).

Contact: [email protected]

Why do we go to conferences? To meet, hear and see the “famous” in ELT? To learn about what’s happening out there now? To share and “steal” a few ideas? Maybe to deliver a session on the latest classroom issue we’re grappling with ourselves? The greatest of all these, it has to be said, is the chit-chat, over numerous cups of tea and coffee, and more. And it’s a treat in a world where we’re running around chasing our tails. But besides all these ‘extra-curricular’ chats, what really stood out at Harrogate? For me, there were three things: vision, vocabulary, and variation.

“Vision” came across particularly strongly in Magdalena Kubanyiova’s talk on “the power of vision”, through motivating learners and teachers (she has very recently published a book with Zoltán Dörnyei). What struck me most was her comment that it’s not about aspiring to be “like a great teacher you once knew”, but rather, the real question is “what is it about you that caused the teacher to be inspiring”. I had to stop and think about that one. She herself was so inspiring that I sprinted to the CUP stand in search of the book immediately afterwards!

Michael Hoey is always inspiring to listen to, and in his session on Lexical Priming, he brought into practical classroom use many ideas relating to words and how they work. He’s interesting, insightful and entertaining: perfect ingredients for a plenary speaker. Still on vocabulary, I was very excited to discover that the OUP Advanced Learners’ Dictionary app, which I’ve had on my phone for a while, can do far more than I’d realised: it’s clearly time to read the “instructions manual” again and put the app to use in class!

“Variat ion” here for me means “doing the same, but doing it differently or better”: I enjoyed a number of teacher-training sessions: one post-talk discussion that lasted well into the early hours – with colleagues from Eötvös Loránd University and ex-International House Budapest – was on the question of whether it’s appropriate for a tutor to intervene in the teaching practice of his or her trainees [Bill Harris’s session]. Other sessions on training addressed issues of dealing with emerging language (language which just “comes up” during teaching practice sessions), as well as helping encourage trainee teachers to promote “real conversation” in the classroom. We do these things to some extent, but thinking about how to vary an approach, and encourage trainees more effectively, can be challenging: I can’t wait for that next training opportunity to try these things out!


The greatest reward, as I mentioned, was talking shop and chatting to friends and colleagues I’ve known for years, but haven’t necessarily been in close contact with, or simply don’t find 20 minutes to sit down with on a regular basis. Most of these contacts stem from one of my “hey-day” ELT periods, the mid to late 1990s in Budapest: so many of the people I was chatting to in Harrogate had passed through Budapest (and/or International House) during those years,

and that wave-length is really strong: these are people with the same ELT values, mostly CELTA values, and a strong belief about what really matters in the classroom. Despite the fact that real classrooms are now being talked of as “old-hat” – with mobile devices storming in, blended learning the “new black”, not to mention Big Data companies potentially overpowering publishers – there is, still, a huge amount of solid ground that won’t be rocked. But if you missed this face-to-face opportunity, you can let the conference, and the associated discussions on Twitter, Facebook and blogs, into your own living room very easily: do join in next year, in Manchester, in any which way you can!

Learn more at: http://www.iatefl.hu/?q=node/232

I nspiration. A ctivation. T raining. E nglish. F eel ing. L earning.

To learn more about our Creative Café events taking place on the first Friday of each month at the Libra Foreign Language Bookshop (Budapest, Kölcsey u. 2.) visit http://www.iatefl.hu/?q=node/202 .


A LETTER FROM DOLORES DOLORES MALIČ works as a teacher of English and German at a primary school in Slovenia. She teaches little ones and teenagers, and she likes her job. She used to be the editor of IATEFL Slovenia's magazine called IN. Contact: [email protected]

Dear Friend,

Here I am, final ly – I know, I know… I’ve been thinking about sending you this “report”, but I just didn’t have the time to do it earl ier !

Wel l , there it was, this soaking wet Saturday that didn’t seem at al l promis ing to start with but turned out to be one of the best days so far in 2014 .

It rained heavi ly the whole time when I was driv ing to Ljubl jana. And I got lost. Again. I always seem to get lost in Ljubl jana. I can’t he lp it and I don’t l ike it one bit, but it seems l ike I’ l l never be able to know my way to al l those parts of Ljubl jana that I need at any given time. It real ly d idn’t he lp my bad start to the day! But then I managed to find the school – oh, what a re l ief !

I’d met our presenter before. And I’d seen some of the other partic ipants before and even got to know some of them. It was nice to see the fami l iar faces again.

And then it began. One of the best seminars in a very long time.

The welcome writing on the board said : “Teacher, teacher, legendary creature, how does your garden grow?” This s imple writing reminded me of some of the chi ldren’s books I read to my two boys, some of them in Engl ish and some translated into Slovene, and at the very first moment I read it, the cover picture of Jul ia Donaldson’s Room on the Broom came to my mind. It’s one of our favourite books; we have it in S lovene and my older son knows it by heart, because of the beautiful rhymes that make the words so easy to memorise…

So, I’m sure you’ve heard about Bea Price before. But have you ever seen her working her own MAGIC? Let me try to descr ibe it a bit…

She is ful l of positive energy and so is her “MALL” (Movement Accompanied Language Learning) Method. And I have to warn you, it ’s contagious. I’m always a bit reserved when it comes to doing things in front of people I don’t know wel l , but I didn’t even think about this… I s imply fe lt l ike one of my young learners and just let myself p lay the part.

My favourite activ ity was the string games. I just stood there and enjoyed the show. That string in Bea’s hand seemed magical . I’m sure she’s done it mi l l ions of times, but I sti l l can’t be l ieve how her fingers told me the story! She he ld the Eiffel Tower in her hands! She said her games are s imple and I bel ieve her, but I’m not sure how long it wi l l take me to master just some of them. I wonder whether I have any magical powers in me as wel l? I guess I should begin practis ing…

Another activ ity I have to try with my pupi ls (as you know, I teach at a primary school , deal ing with upper grades mostly, though sometimes I also teach the first-, second-, third- and fourth-graders) are the c lapping games. Bea introduced


us to some easy ones, and when she was happy that we’d mastered these, there were some more difficult ones to try. I can’t decide which my favourite was, but I have to admit some of them were quite tricky. Bea also explained that chi ldren cannot c lap by cross ing their hands unti l they are 7 years o ld ( if I remember correctly) . She said it’s imposs ib le for them to do this , so we should be careful with what c lapping games we choose – not al l of them are appropriate for al l ages . (Now when I’m writing about them, the melody of “My mother said…” goes through my mind. It’s funny how I remember it even though I didn’t know it before the seminar – it must be quite catchy, I guess !)

We also did some play rhymes, where we had to move our bodies . I’ve tried “Tal l shop in the town” at home with my four-year o ld and he l iked it, so I mustn’t forget to use it with my pupi ls after the hol idays.

One exce l lent idea I’ve already tried at school are the skipping games. I had an Engl ish lesson together with PE with my first, second and third grades . There are only 17 pupi ls a ltogether and we used the skipping rope to revise the months and days of the week. They loved it, so they want to do it every time they see me come to their c lass .

At the seminar we also p layed a vers ion of “Snap!” where you div ide up the cards and then every p layer has to turn over the upper card on his or her pi le . If someone e lse has a matching card turned already, that person and the one who is on at that moment both have to say “snap!” The one who is the first to say the word gives his or her cards to the one who lost in that round. It was an interesting game, but you have to have enough matching cards to p lay with. We used animal cards, but there are p lenty of options – you can just choose cards that feature whatever vocabulary you l ike or need to learn or to revise .

There’ l l soon be f l ies al l over the p lace again, so we’ l l a l l probably have the fly swatters at hand. To practise vocabulary us ing fly swatters (we used two of them), you choose 4 pupi ls (2 pairs) and use the rest of the pupi ls as audience, judges and also speakers . They read the things that they see on the cards out loud, and the pair that hits the mentioned card first, wins it and takes it . The trick is that one person in each pair holds the f ly swatter and the other one he lps him or her by pointing to where the mentioned card is , though without touching it . This can be a bit difficult at times because the he lper is usual ly eager to offer too much help , and so quite often the other team ends up winning the card even though they weren’t the quickest.

There were also some beanbag games that come in handy when teaching or revis ing the numbers or the fami ly members . I l iked this activ ity because the chi ldren can s it or stand up and there is not too much noise , and I think it can be a great c losure at the end of the lesson.

Al l in al l , we had lots of fun. Bea’s workshop was ful l of laughter and I think everyone real ly enjoyed the activ ities . Here are some pictures of us J I hope you get a chance to see Bea’s energy l ive – don’t miss it if you do!

Al l the best,

Do lores


English-speaking Countries Quiz (Answer key on page 29.) Across

5. ... is one of the principal Inuit languages in Canada. 6. ... Mountain is a flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. 7. ... and England were united in 1707 to form Great Britain. 8. The Southern ... is a mountain range extending along the length of New Zealand's South Island. 10. Maya ... was an American writer, poet, singer and dancer. One of her best known works is 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'. Down 1. The motto of Wales in Welsh goes as '... am byth'. 2 . ... is the only Central American country which has English as its official language. 3. … is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. 4. Burt ... was a New Zealand motorcycle racer, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle. He set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. 9. ... is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia.

News bits:

IATEFL-Hungary in cooperation with Akadémiai Kiadó invited all teachers of English to participate in a 5-credit-point course for language teachers. The course was offered in English at various

venues in Hungary.

Participants received a free copy of the coursebook (in Hungarian): Kontráné Hegybíró, E., Kálmos, B. és Dóczi-Vámos, G. (2012):

Diszlexiával angolul. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.


Cuisenaire rods in ELT

GREGOR PIRŠ (Yurena Novo mesto, Slovenia ) has been involved in ELT since 2008. He has worked in Spain, UK and Slovenia where he is currently teaching at Primary School Bizeljsko. The work he does covers a wide range of pupils: primary and secondary, pilots and ATC and business English, however most of the experience was gained when he was teaching students with dyslexia and other special needs. Teaching primary learners and special needs learners has encouraged him to start researching neuro-education and sensory learning. Gregor strives to teach through cognition so

experience of senses is very important in his teaching practice hence the use of Cuisenaire rods. In his free time, Gregor likes to travel and reading. His main goals in life are constant search for happiness and luck. Contact: [email protected]

This article will give you a short presentation of how Cuisenaire rods can help students to learn, practice and improve their language skills. I will give you some practical ideas on what to do in your classroom. These ideas are there to give you a sense of what tactile learning is. As you read them, try to think how these activities can be adapted to suit your students, and how you can use them to make your students more autonomous. The article finishes by giving a theoretical background of humanistic learning and its influence on teaching with Cuisenaire rods. Cuisenaire rods were introduced to teaching in the 1950s. Their invention was inspired by music and the relations between melodies and their first applicable usage can be found in teaching maths (multiplications, ratios, fractions etc.). The silent method presents the first practical application of Cuisenaire rods into an FL classroom. In the later years, the silent method was replaced by other approaches to teaching a foreign language and Cuisenaire rods lost their place in the language classroom. Before the teacher uses the rods in a language classroom Before using the rods in an ELT classroom, the teacher must know her (or his) students; her classroom and her box of Cuisenaire rods very well. Students are the key factors of success. The teacher must be aware of any reasons why students may have problems with using the rods (e.g. colour blindness or allergies to certain materials). Apart from that, the teacher needs to know the exact number of students in her group to plan the number of rods needed for the lesson. The general rule is five or six students per box of 300 rods. The teacher also has to know whether the students are already familiar with the rods through other subjects or not. If the students are not familiar with the rods, the teacher will have to prepare the students for their use by explaining the rules on how they are made and similar points.


Next is the classroom. Although classroom management does not play a big role during the lesson, it is very important that the teacher arrange the classroom before the lesson. The best desks to use are circular so each student has easy access to the rods. Wobbly desks or desks which are too small may cause the rods to keep falling on the floor or the students may not be able to create anything. Alternately, the teacher may consider doing activities on the floor – if the floor is clean enough and it doesn’t have a carpet.

Picture 1: Recommended set of rods

The last thing to consider is the set of Cuisenaire rods you are using. Each box contains a different layout of the rods – so the teacher needs to look at what sort of rods are in the box: do the colours of the rods contrast enough; also the teacher needs to think about the quantity and size of rods available. The best results are achieved by the use of natural materials as opposed to

using plastic – it’s a different feel and students know it. Some practical ideas to be used in the classroom Cuisenaire rods can be used at any stage of the lesson: as a warmer, practice activity, speaking activity and so on. The teacher needs to be aware that she will not only develop student’s cognitive skills but also their collaborative learning, their autonomy and their multisensory learning. The learning process is beyond teaching and therefore during activities the teacher is only the facilitator. Intentionally, the aims of each activity will not be discussed in great detail. That’s for the teacher to think about and decide what she wants to achieve with the activity. Just remember that using the rods is not a one-time occurrence. It has to happen over and over again – if you don’t plan to use them at least two or three times in a year, it’s not worth it. You will just see it as a waste of time and the students will not fully enjoy the activities. A good idea to begin with is to use the rods to increase students’ self-esteem. Rods in general have a positive influence on the students as (1) the teacher will never say this is correct or this is wrong and (2) students are creators of their own work – they are also the only ones who know how to interpret their work. An activity that builds on interpersonal intelligence is when students build their own faces from rods. This activity helps to build group dynamics, it gives students realia to speak about and “the faces” present a good point of discussion. With this activity the teacher also avoids asking the textbook questions but she gives the students’ the opportunity to make their own presentation (sometimes the students are not even aware that they are speaking English).


The tasks one can do with rods are suitable for all types of learners. In primary school a lot of students are kinaesthetic learners. Another activity (especially suitable for kinaesthetic learners) is “build your dream town”. Students work alone. Their task is to use as many rods as they wish to build a town of their dreams. After the teacher stops the activity, the students are invited to go for a walk through this magical town. The teacher decides where the first stop is and she asks the students to stop there. The author of the town is asked to describe it. The teacher may ask questions regarding the colour and size of certain buildings, for example, “Why is your hospital black?” or “I’m surprised that your tree is higher than the skyscraper”. Picture 2: Using Cuisenaire rods on the board

Rods are also very helpful for teaching grammar. They can serve as a good colour coding aid for teaching tenses and other structures (e.g., comparison of verbs, sentence structure and similar – note picture for details). When the teacher decides to use the rods on the board, she has to be careful that the same colour-coding system is

used with the same structures (e.g., light blue for past continuous). The reason for this is very simple. When the teacher sticks to the same colour-coding system in teaching grammar, students get the opportunity to reactive previous knowledge through a new learning channel. This way of teaching is also suitable for a visual learner. Different sizes of rods on the board help to stress the importance of certain structures. Past continuous can be coded with a longer rod because it is formed by means of main verb and auxiliary verb, and shorter rods can be used to emphasize endings (e.g., the -s ending for present simple). Tactile (humanistic) learning and its influence on the learners Tactile learning – learning by touch – is learning by doing. Most of the teaching approaches in the past have been criticised as they were lacking a personal connection between the students and the learning material. The first approach to claim to have this was CLIL (Marsh, Hood, & Do Coyle, 2010). The connection in CLIL is different as it aims to connect students’ aims/needs with the content. Most of the cognitive research about learning claims that learning is most effective when more than one “receiving” channel is active (e.g., listening and writing). Some writers claim that teaching with Cuisenaire rods falls under the category of humanistic teaching (Norman, 2003). An important element of humanistic teaching is that all activities are learner centred; the emphasis is on learning not teaching and the students are autonomous in their learning (Saraswathi, 2005).


The elements of humanistic teaching which are present when Cuisenaire rods are used, and the fact that Norman also considers teaching with Cuisenaire rods to be a way of effective learning, gives positive results in students’ self-esteem. I noticed that students who have a shorter attention span or are not active during lessons seem to be more creative with rods. Their products are much more detailed and they always know what the function of each rod in the product is. The fact that students are creative during learning means that the teacher is also creative during teaching. She is no longer syllabus-bound so the students are no longer syllabus-bound (Wallace, 1991). When dealing with students who are syllabus-free, the need for testing is reduced as the students no longer pursue solely the aims of the course (Parlett, 1974). As the stress of marking and achieving standards is (almost) removed from the class, the sense of a learning community is much stronger. Awareness of a learning community in the end enables collaborative learning to kick into action and the students work together for a common aim so no one is left behind. Final words This article’s aim was to equip teachers with the basic idea on how humanistic learning should work in an FL classroom. The media which was used is a simple wooden stick called ELT rods. After reading the article, the reader is able to critically think about how his or her teacher time can be reduced. The outcome of this reduction is a better learning experience for both the learner and the teacher.

References Meze Pirih, P. (retrieved 15. 11 2013). Matematične palčke - zvezek z idejami 2. www.bistra-

glavca.si. Meze Pirih, P. (2012). Matematične palčke : zvezek z vajami in idejami za igro. Lesce: Bistra

glavca si. Norman, S. (2003). Transforming Learning: Introducing SEAL Approaches. London: Saffire

Press. Scott, T., & Peter, W. (2007). The CELTA course: Trainee Book. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press. Wallace, M. J. (1991). Training Foreign Language Teachers: A Reflective Approach.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


LANGUAGE COMPETITIONS FOR LIFE SKILLS

BEA MADARÁSZ has been working as an English language teacher at Hajós Alfréd Elementary School in Gödöllő, which was chosen to be one of the British Council Partner Schools in 2014. Her school is responsible for organizing the annual English language competitions in the town every year. She believes in Learner-centred education and preparing pupils for real life, therefore she finds it important to incorporate life skills in her teaching methods. She was one of the speakers at the 23rd IATEFL-Hungary conference at IBS, Budapest. In this article she shows how life skills can be built in language competitions and shares her experience. Contact: [email protected]

“Don’t l imit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another t ime.”

Rabindranath Tagore

In primary schools we can have test writing, speech and drama competitions or language exam-like competitions. This article is about English language competitions that are different from these and they have a huge impact on the students’ motivation.

Every year a competition is organized for all class 8 children (age 14) coming from different elementary and secondary schools in a town near Budapest, called Gödöllő, with about thirty thousand people. Our approach focuses on breaking out from an everyday teaching attitude and it reinforces creativity, language and culture in an enjoyable way. During the competition students have to use several interpersonal skills to complete the tasks, for example,

• verbal communication

• non-verbal communication

• active listening

• negotiation

• problem solving

• presentation

• effective speech

• questioning


Research clearly shows that interpersonal skills are indispensable in our social, personal and professional lives. In the workplace people are needed who can work in teams effectively and can communicate and interact with other people.

Children have a month to prepare on a certain, given topic that is always more than general language knowledge. Every year we choose a motto for the competition. Before the event, students get a list of websites so they can make preparations on the topic. Children have to read books, search the internet, watch films, study biographies and make power point presentations in advance. They do not even realize that they will acquire a lot of extra information about famous people, places and interesting topics and they acquire a lot of useful skills including digital skills as well.

We do not focus on grammar or test writing. We put the emphasis on communication, co-operation and creativity. It is very important to develop negotiation skills, building rapport, building confidence, assertiveness and dealing with stress. We put children in a competitive position without stress and anxiety. We laugh a lot and play a lot and learn a lot (because they must learn during the competition as well, for example, sign language, or mother Teresa’s prayer or a Durrell quotation) and smell and taste and have fun while they improve their assertiveness and self-esteem.

I would also like to mention some organizational aspects. We find it important to hold this town event in a very nice place. We never have the competition in any of the schools. Since the students come from all the schools in the town, we occupy the Wedding Hall of the Town Hall and decorate it appropriately for the given topic.

We always expect groups of 3 members. We think this is an optimal number for efficient working. They can work together but they can work separately as well when needed. This way the students can practice their skills of negotiation, building rapport and problem solving.

Another very important aspect is that to raise the standard of the competition we invite important people to be members of the jury: the Vice Mayor of the town, the Chairwoman of the Language Department of Szent István University, OUP representatives or teachers from the British Council who always support our events.


Every year different aspects are in focus. In the year when Gerald Durrell was our main theme, our additional aim was to pay attention to critically endangered animals and protection of the environment.

Students had to read the simplified version of My Family and other Animals by Durrell. There

were a lot of exercises based on the book. They had to study Durrell’s foundation, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and choose a critically endangered animal then make a project and a presentation about it.

Presentation skills are very popular nowadays and our competition always gives great emphasis to developing and practicing these skills. A presentation always goes together with effective speech, active listening, clarification, working with visual aids, verbal and non-verbal communication and questioning.

Additionally, the students had to make 2 posters, one about an endangered animal and the other one about protected birds in Hungary, using the Natura 2000 logo that is recognised in the European Union. Naturally I asked for permission to use the logo from the Ministry of Rural Development. At the end of the school year all 20 posters were exhibited in the House of Arts in Gödöllő.

The competitors also had to act out a chosen scene from the book: for instance, Larry shoots at birds and falls into the mud, scorpions escape from a matchbox all over the table, or snakes are found in the bathroom.


The success of this type of competition inspired us to follow the pattern, so the following year we put our main emphasis on tolerance and accepting disabilities through the life of Helen Keller. Helen Keller was born in 1880 and at the age of one and a half she became deaf and blind. With the help of her teacher and friend, Anne Sullivan, she learnt to speak and write, communicate in sign language, learn six languages, play chess and lead a very active life.

During the preparation time, students watched a film called Miracle worker that tells the true story about Helen’s life, although it shows only a few months of her life. They studied her biography and work and they made a presentation about a certain period of her life showing tolerance and empathy.

This time they did not make posters but a power point presentation. We find it very important to give students the opportunity to acquire the ability to stand in front of their teammates and teachers and the

jury and speak, make an impression and share knowledge. Beside presentation skills, they had to use digital skills as well. Helen’s teacher, nurse and friend, Anne Sullivan, taught her how to speak. There are videos on the internet where Anne explains the way she showed Helen how to utter sounds.

In the competition the participants had to imagine an interview with Anne and act it out. It was a special task because the group members had to do different things at the same time. One or two prepared the interview; another member learnt the sign language. But the most unusual aspect of this task was that the interviewer and Anne Sullivan came from different groups. On one hand, they had to create questions about the topic, and on the other hand, they had


to co-operate with the team they competed with. It was a surprise for them and they had to cope with it.

This task required many real life skills: building rapport, negotiation, team work, assertiveness, questioning, active listening, cooperation, tolerance, coping with a difficult situation, time managing, problem solving, and so on. Helen’s story was astonishing and touching. The students were crying during their preparation at school and everybody was watching the film Miracle worker. It was an efficient way to develop empathy.

Last year we wanted to give competitors a more complex topic and we tried to give a glimpse into the multicultural diversity of India by presenting some UNESCO World Heritage sites from different regions of this huge country and emphasizing Mother Teresa’s active life. In the presentation students could choose a building or place belonging to UNESCO World Heritage. The presenter had to ask a question from the audience to force active listening and questioning as well as presentation skills. In addition, they had to make authentic Indian food - Masala Chai - to get closer to the culture itself. In the India competition all five senses were pampered and petted. After the competition the participants could taste everything. They could see and read the ingredients on small notes by the finger-food. Of course, there was a nice smell in the Town Hall!

We followed our own tradition and one student made an interview with Mother Teresa (who was coming from a different team), the second member was making masala chai in the lobby, where we put some electric stoves and spices in advance, and the 3rd member was memorizing one sentence from Teresa’s prayer. At the end of the competition they stood in front of the others and recited it.

In this competition all the interpersonal and other life skills mentioned above were used.


Summary:

The most important thing is that we have to give children a positive attitude and positive experience. We must not forget that we do not teach language books, not even the language itself. We teach children. The target is not the head but the heart, because they will forget what we tell them, but they will always remember whatever they have felt.

News bits:

IATEFL-Hungary and the British Council were happy to organize a fantastically entertaining teacher training event based on Shakespeare’s classic comedy Twelfth Night to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the birth of the Bard of Avon. The afore-mentioned event took place in March at Uránia Cinema and Casa de la Música, Budapest.

Visit: http://www.britishcouncil.org/hu/hungary/hungary.htm


We (IATEFL – Hungary – International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language - Hungary) believe in a future where quality, professional development and equal opportunities in English language learning and teaching are properly appreciated in Hungary.

Contact:

http://www.iatefl.hu

https://www.facebook.com/iateflhungary

@iatefl_hu

http://www.youtube.com/user/IATEFLHungary

http://www.linkedin.com/iatefl-hungary

1276 Budapest, Pf. 19.

Quiz answers: Across 5: Inuktitut; 6: Table; 7: Scotland; 8: Alps; 10: Angelou;

Down 1: Cymru; 2: Belize; 3: Hibernia; 4: Munro; 9: platypus;

IATEFL – Hungary

Supporting quality language teaching

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