Katie's experience in Codoba!

In my previous post, I wrote about the upcoming Cordoba Cambridge Experience.

I asked Katie to share her 'experience' of the Cambridge Experiences!  You can see Katie in action in the photo below:

What did the events cover?

Both Cambridge Experiences  included a useful variety of ideas, both theoretical and practical, for teachers.
In Madrid there were workshops on speaking skills, reading and writing activies and pronunciation.
In Cordoba the workshops focused on vocabulary games, reading and writing activiites and general teaching skills. 

What did you think of the venues where the Cambridge Experiences took place?

They both took place in ideal settings: the Hotel Silken Puerta America in Madrid  with it's extraordinary architecture and interior design and the beautiful Jardin Botanico in Cordoba.
The participants enjoyed their extended coffee break to look at CUP and exam materials while enjoying the curiosities of the Silken hotel and the fresh air and sunshine in the Botanic Gardens. 

What do you think people will take away with them from these Experiences?

The raffle which included  kindles and trips to Spas was also a popular part of the Experience.
Audience participation was good and contacts and opinions were exchanged.

I think a productive and pleasant time was had by all!

Katie is a member of the Cambridge English Language Assessment Iberian team of seminar presenters.

Other members of the team who have also taken part in the Cambridge Experiences this year are Tom Wogan, Idália Luz and Adriana Real.  Thanks to all of them for their ideas and enthusiasm!

For more impressions of this and the other 2014 Cambridge Experiences, click on the links below!

You made it special!! Cambridge Experience 2014 

You made it special!! Cambridge Experience Córdoba

Experience Cambridge in Cordoba!

On Saturday, Katie Curbelo, who's a Seminar Presenter for Cambridge English Language Assessment here in Spain, will be taking part in the Cambridge Experience in Cordoba.  Katie's sessions are always very practical and popular and I'm sure this one will be no exception.

The other two speakers at the event are also favourites of mine.  I've seen Jacquie speaking live and have watched recordings of Ceri Jones - unfortunately I haven't actually 'experienced' her live yet.  She is a very active contributor to ELTpics and to takeaphotoand.  I've mentioned both of these in previous posts:  the burning questionnaire  and   A wonderful resource

So, good luck to all three speakers and I hope that those of you who get to go to the event enjoy yourselves!

Today we chat with Gerard McLoughlin who will be delivering a talk at The Cambridge Experience Valencia

Today I have the pleasure to chat with Gerard McLoughlin. Gerard has been a teacher and trainer for 20 years. He is currently a teacher and trainer on CELTA and DELTA courses at International House Barcelona. He has an MA in ELT and is a co-author of Next Generation, a Bachillerato coursebook for Cambridge University Press.

Gerard will be delivering the talk "Accuracy to Fluency" next Saturday 11th of May at the Cambridge Experience Valencia - Hotel Silken Puerta Valencia. 

Entrance is free but teachers wanting to attend need to register in advance here.

Hello Gerard! Why did you decide to go into English language teaching?

When I first finished collage I knew I wanted to live in Italy and asked around about how I could get work there. Friends told me about teaching English and that’s what made me start. Once I was there I realised that being in the classroom suited my personality. I love helping people and the classroom gives me an opportunity to do exactly that. I could never see myself doing anything else. I never get bored whether I’m training teachers or teaching.

Gerard McLoughlin

Who or what inspires you?

My students! Our classes are about sharing information and I learn so much from being with them. It has really helped me to grow as a person and understand what makes people click.

What's your all time top-tip for English language teachers?

Be yourself, listen to your students and help them say what they want to say.

Do you have a favourite ELT website?

This is a hard one as I have so many both ELT and non-ELT. One of the things I do in my classes is try to develop students’ awareness of issues and world conditions they might not have considered. My all time favourite for doing this is Disabled Access Friendly   It has a wealth of material and lesson plans that I use quite regularly in my classes. But as most teachers I also find a lot  of ideas on everday websites such as The Guardian  and New York Times.

A gadget you can't live without?

I’m not a big gadget person. I suppose it’s because of my generation.  I couldn’t live without my laptop, I use it all the time for keeping in touch with family and friends and keeping up to date with what’s happening in the world.

And finally, why do you think teachers should see your talk?

That’s a hard one.  My talk is about how I help students develop their speaking. I find that speaking is also about listening and both speakers have a role. It’s a two way conversation and how do we make that seem natural? Come and find out! 

Thanks Gerard! It's been a pleasure to chat with you!

Cambridge Experience Santander, TESOL e-newsletter

Hello again
Today's post is going to be a mixture of things - an update on recent activities before I move onto newer things.

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Cambridge Experience in Santander on Saturday.  It was quite a sacrifice to make, seeing that it was our first glorious day here after days and days of cold and pouring rain!

There was a great turnout, filling the room in the Hotel Santemar.  Participants were rewarded for their dedication with a goodie bag full of useful materials for the classroom (as well as a nice bag!) and they certainly were willing to participate in all the activities.

Here I am being introduced by Helena, from the Cambridge English: Language Assessment in Madrid.
And here is the end of my talk!

And I also wanted to mention that the latest issue of the TESOLSpain e-newsletter is out. I was asked to write an article on this Blog!

How I came to write the Teaching Together Blog and why I enjoy it so 
much!

You can read it here.

Boxes of great ideas and links

A little earlier, I was catching up on emails from sites I'm subscribed to but haven't had time to explore (happens a lot!)
After seeing posters advertising Secondary and Primary Box in Granada and Malaga at the Cambridge Experiences, I decided that it was high time  I took a look at them.

In fact, I found so many interesting things in the Resources Section of Secondary Box, that I'll be leaving Primary Box for another rainy day!

http://www.thesecondarybox.org/

I have created an account on Secondary Box and have created a box called 'Writing'.  I'm saving resources that I find on Secondary Box that I plan to try out (and share with you!) to work on writing skills.

(I'm giving a seminar here in Santander on Saturday as part of the Santander Cambridge Experience, so writing is high on my interest list right now!)

And I just wanted to give quick mention of an interesting find that I have saved in my Writing Box.  I'm going to use a screenshot because it explains so well what the blog is and what it aims to do:

http://tefldust.blogspot.it/

Today we chat with Caroline Nixon who will be delivering a talk at The Cambridge Experience Santander

Today I have the pleasure to chat with Caroline Nixon. Caroline will be delivering the talk “Box of Tricks” at The Cambridge Experience Santander next Saturday 4th of May at Hotel Santemar.

Caroline Nixon has been teaching English since 1983 and is co-author of the Cambridge Primary course Kid’s Box. She gives teacher-training workshops in Portugal, Spain and England.

Hi Caroline, can you tell us why did you decide to go into English language teaching?

I needed a job. I started training and loved it immediately. I felt like I was doing exactly what I should be doing, and still does.

Who or what inspires you?

My pupils, and seeing their progress

What's your all time top-tip for English language teachers?

See it from your pupils' side of the table.

Do you have a favourite ELT website?

Cambridge, of course! In fact, it's the only ELT website I consult

A gadget you can't live without?

I can live without everything except my breath

And finally, why do you think teachers should see your talk?

I think teachers should decide for themselves what they should or shouldn't do. Those that wish to see my talk will be most welcome!

Thanks Caroline! A pleasure to chat with you

Today we chat with Jane Delaney who will be delivering a talk at the Cambridge Experience Gijón

Today I have the pleasure (and the time!)  to chat with my colleague Jane Delaney, member of the Cambridge English Presenters Team who will be delivering the talk "Getting it right in the Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools Speaking Test" at the Cambridge Experience Gijón , next Saturday 27^th  of March at Hotel Tryp Rey Pelayo.

Jane Delaney is a primary school teacher, and lives in Tarragona. She is an experienced Examiner, Examiner Trainer and Teacher Trainer for Cambridge English and runs the British Council Examinations Centre in Tarragona. She has given many workshops and sessions on Teaching Younger Learners, and has written various materials. She is particularly interested in CLIL and getting children and teenagers to speak and write.

Jane Delaney, delivering a presentation at the Cambridge Experience Zaragoza 2011

Hello Jane! Can you tell us why did you decide to go into English language teaching?

Well, I was a teacher in England, and wanted to travel a little bit and see more of the world before I “settled down”. I worked in Turkey and then came to Tarragona 20 years ago, and here I still am!

Who or what inspires you?

My children, my students, the weather. Seeing learning taking place in unplanned moments.

What's your all time top-tip for English language teachers?

Be flexible. Don’t follow your lesson plan or course book slavishly. The best learning takes place in the little moments outside the plan.

Do you have a favourite ELT website?

Flo-Joe, Cambridge English Teacher and, of course, the Teaching Together blog! J

A gadget you can't live without?

My computer and mobile phone, unfortunately.

And finally, why do you think teachers should see your talk?

Hopefully you might learn a few more activities to do with your teenage PET students to help them through the Speaking Test!

Thanks Jane! It has been a pleasure to chat with you! 

See you in Malaga?

Sorry I've been a bit quiet this week - it's not because I'm lounging in the sun next to the swimming pool or anything - believe me!   (Fond memories of last summer in Sardinia spring to mind!!)

I've got a lot of different projects going on at the moment.  Enrolments for the Cambridge English: Young Learners English Tests coming in thick and fast, writing a Cambridge Preliminary Writing seminar I'm giving in Santander as part of the Cambridge Experience on May 4th.  (Information and programme here).  Tomorrow, I'll be in Madrid all day, part work, partly catching up with family.

And on Friday, I'll be in Malaga at another Cambridge Experience event.

Here is the programme.  Looking forward to it!

I'll try and write a post some time soon - have a few recent discoveries to share with you......

TESOL Spain

Just over a year ago, I gave a session at the 2012 TESOL Spain Convention in Bilbao.

I didn't make it to this year's convention in Seville because I had other commitments, but I have heard a lot about it and as a reader for the TESOL Newsletter and with friends on the Board, I try and keep up with what's happening in TESOL Spain.

I receive the e-newsletter once a month by email.  You can read this month's edition online here (and also look through the previous 10 editions). The Question and Answer with Dr David Crystal (whose plenary I had the pleasure to attend in Bilbao) is well worth reading.

I've just been looking at the TESOL Spain website too and have begun downloading the handouts from the sessions in Seville.








The fact that you can access speakers' handouts even though you weren't at the Convention or were there but couldn't go to everything at once is great.  A great initiative!


I've downloaded several sets of handouts to look through in more detail.  Many of them contain your take-away-and-use-today ideas - for example Andrea Littlewood's ideas for personalisation in the YL classroom or Fiona Mauchline's Putting the Creative Back in Writing.

And of course, our very own Cambridge English Seminar Presenter, Katie Curbelo (or Katie Maunder as she appears on the programme) was in Seville.  Her session was called Speak, Write, Learn:  Fun Activities for the Adolescent Classroom.  I'm sure the session was as practical and as useful as always.

I'll be looking at the other articles in the newsletter and downloading more handouts in the coming days when I have time to come back to the site.  If you do the same, pass on recommendations to the rest of us via this blog!

And I hope to see some of you in Granada on Saturday!

The Cambridge Experience events start in Porto

Today I have the pleasure (and the time!)  to chat with my colleague Nick Shaw, member of the Cambridge English Presenters Team who will be delivering the talk "Worried about going for Schools?" at The Cambridge Experience Porto , next Saturday 23rd of March at Hotel Eurostars das Artes

Nick Shaw graduated in Modern Languages from the University of Cambridge and subsequently completed a PGCE course at the University of London and taught French and Spanish for a year before deciding to move into English language teaching. Although he has been preparing candidates for Cambridge English exams since 1977, his active involvement with the organisation began as an oral examiner in 1985. 

In addition to being a member of the Seminar Presenter and Centre Inspector teams in Spain, Nick acts as a consultant to Cambridge University Press on a variety of projects including mainstream coursebooks, examination preparation materials and grammar books.

Nick delivering a seminar at the latest
Cambridge Experience in A Coruña

Hello Nick, first of all: why did you decide to go into English language teaching?

After graduating from university with a degree in Modern Languages I spent a year trying to get myself converted into a trainee accountant, after which my employer and I mutually agreed that the honorable profession was not made for me (or vice-versa). So I decided to take myself off for a year to reflect on my future, and answered an advert for English teachers needed in A Coruña, a town near which I had spent a couple of months four summers previously. Thirty-seven years later, I'm still there and still reflecting!

What is the favourite bit about your presentation?

The questions from the audience, for a variety of reasons. First , if there aren't any I feel that I have failed to engage and interest participants in what I wanted to say. Secondly, they show me to what extent I have been successful (or not) in getting my message across, and most importantly of all, they more often than not make me think on my feet and remind me that we're all learners.

Who or what inspires you?

The teachers I work with, not only at the school in A Coruña, but at events and conferences I attend (not always as a speaker!). There's always so much you can learn from your colleagues if you remember why we were born with two ears but only one mouth...

What’s your all-time top tip for English language teachers?

Softly softly catchee monkey. Or to put it another way, a slow, careful and persistent approach to what you do, giving your students time to grasp a concept, make their mistakes, practice until they get it right more often than wrong and finally internalise it is almost always going to give you better results than a showy display of classroom fireworks that leaves them dazzled, but only able to remember that they'd had a good time.

Do you have a favourite elt website?

No, I don't do favourites. ELT websites, authors, musicians, football teams - you name it, there's good and bad to be found in absolutely everything, and if you keep your ears, eyes and mind open and exercise critical judgement, you can generally get something of value from anything you come across - even if it's realising that although questions don't necessarily have to have a right answer, they can certainly have wrong ones...

A gadget you can’t live without?

A P38 can opener (see picture). I first came across this amazingly versatile and useful item on one of my earliest camping trips to Spain when I was a teenager, and it instantly replaced the much more cumbersome, expensive and pocket-stretching Swiss Army knife as my number one gadget. In my experience, small is beautiful and the simplest solutions are always the best.

And finally, why do you think teachers should see your talk?

You'll have to ask them! I hope that my talk will help to allay some of the fears surrounding the idea of 'external evaluation' and show that Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools and Cambridge English: First for Schools examinations are not as daunting or unattainable as we may think, and in fact to a great extent mirror the way our students use the language they are learning from us in real-life situations, making what they do in the classroom much more relevant to them.

Thanks Nick! It's been a pleasure to chat with you!

Stories from Italy

Back from Italy now - fantastic trip from all angles - I met loads of great people, shared activities with many, many teachers and learnt a few myself too!

Every day in Italy, there was a session on storytelling.

In Turin, Marcus Tubby told us a story about the Frog Prince.

As you can see in these photos, I held one line of the story (washing) line.  ( I mentioned this in my previous post).

Marcus gave a set of pictures showing the different characters and elements in the story to two 'volunteers'.  They had to peg up the pictures in the order they were mentioned in the story.

Marcus has put the pictures and the story on his blog here.

And two days later in Rome, Norman Cain from International House Rome had us listening to and telling more stories.  The slides from his presentation are available here.

A short (working) week here in Spain - Thursday is a national holiday and so is Saturday.  I'll upload another post before I head off to London - I love London in December (well actually, at any time of the year!!!)

Take a picture in Oviedo

Just back from Oviedo.  I thoroughly enjoyed my trip along the coast on Saturday morning.

My session was the last one of the morning, so I had the chance to pick up some very useful tips and ideas from Karen Elliot and Borja Uruñuela who were 'on' before me.

Karen shared some great story and story telling techniques with us.  We were treated to her 6 'voices' when she entertained us with some stories.  Another important number in stories is 3 apparently.  I learnt some very useful and simple tips for choosing and using stories for class.  Great!

Next on was Borja.

 I had heard a lot about Borja before I first attended his session in Bilbao at this year's TESOL Convention.  I was not disappointed there nor last Saturday, where, like Karen, he was sharing the Magic Ingredients for the Primary Classroom.


Again, I was impressed by the way he demonstrated simple, effective techniques and suggestions for really involving students in classroom activities and the learning process.

And then it was my turn.  I was talking about one of my favourite topics - using pictures to stimulate language practice.  I wanted to show how the same picture can be used at different levels to practise different language.

Most of the activities and pictures (such as the ones above) that I shared with teachers in Oviedo are available to download from the Cambridge ELT website.

The teachers in the audience were GREAT!  They participated, laughed and smiled.  Thanks if you were one of them!!!

Saturday in Oviedo

If you've read the previous posts on this blog, you might have guessed that pictures are an important part of my teaching tools.


I thought I'd write a quick post about the session I'll be giving in Oviedo on Saturday.

I'll be giving a very practical session called Take a Picture.

Pictures are used in the coursebooks we use and feature prominently in the Cambridge ESOL Young Learners English Tests.  In the classroom, we can use pictures for a huge number of activities and games, and, at the same time, develop our students’ language skills and range.

In the session, participants will try out some picture activities and we will discuss how to help our students notice and think about the contents of pictures.  


My session follows a seminar by Karen Elliot called Storytelling: tips and techniques for Primary and a session by Borja Uruñuela taking the magic ingredients for young learners.  Should be fun!!!

For the  programme, follow this link

If you live near Oviedo and would like to come along - great!!!

#CambExpBcn Rosie Burke: Songs and Games in the YL classroom

And today, I am delighted to have the chance to chat to Rosie Burke, another member of the Cambridge ESOL Presenters Team, who will be delivering the talk Songs and Games in the YL classroom – Spicing up your classes - without losing control! at The Cambridge Experience Barcelona , on Saturday 17th  March at CasaConvalescència UAB Campus.

Hello Rosie, why did you decide to go into English language Teaching? 

I went into English Language teaching just after training to be a secondary school teacher in 1977. 

I worked on an international summer camp near London and met a lot of students from all over Europe. Some of the teachers I worked with there were moving to Spain and I came with them, thinking that a year abroad would do me good.  And here I am, 35 years later. I started EFL with reel to reel tapes and a banda machine. I used to end every day with broken tapes and hands covered with ink.J  I have seen many changes over the years but I still love my job!!

Now I get the opportunity to travel and compare EFL in different countries and have recently visited Jordan and Brazil for work – methods can be very different but children are children wherever I go.

What is your talk about? 

Using games and songs in the young learner classroom and integrating them into every class as part of skills work while at the same time preparing the children to take a formal exam with ease.

Why do you think teachers should see your talk?

Teachers who come to this talk should go away with the idea that routines are important for primary school children – but there should still be a fun element in the class.  It is important that children use their target language in all aspects of the classroom as well as when  they are on task.  We will be looking at ideas to promote this among teachers as well as young learners.

What's your all-time top tip for English language teachers? 

Use lots of humour and positive motivation at all levels! Smile! :-) and keep up the enthusiasm.

Thanks Rosie! A pleasure... as usual!

Steve Hasler at #CambExpBcn - Cambridge English First for Schools: Speaking

Today I have the pleasure (and the time!)  to chat with my colleague Steve Hasler, member of the Cambridge ESOL Presenters Team, who will be delivering the talk Cambridge First for Schools: Speaking at the The Cambridge Experience Barcelona , next Saturday 17th of March at CasaConvalescència UAB Campus.

Steve Hasler at the Cambridge Experience Madrid 2011

* Steve, why did you decide to go into English language Teaching? 

No Damascus road experience and not even any real idea that I would make a career out of it. Back in the 1970s and early 80s Spain was a different place entirely. English Language Teaching chose you if you were “un nativo” and here for any length of time. Then came realization of how little I and almost everyone else at the time knew about the profession, so there was scope aplenty. 

Finally, a love of languages in general that ELT would let me pursue while I earned what was a surprisingly respectable salary for the time - all of 200 euro a month!

* What is your talk about? 

Cambridge First for Schools: Speaking and how to use the examination to encourage students to talk independently and to get more involved in their own learning process.

* Why do you think teachers will find your talk interesting/useful? 

I hope they’ll find it sets off a few ideas that are probably already waiting to be triggered. They should go away with a more positive idea of the examination and be more willing to embrace it not only as an assessment but also a teaching tool.

* What's your all-time top tip for English language teachers?

The more you learn about your students’ mother tongue and culture, they more they will want to learn about yours.

Thanks Steve! As usual, it has been great talking with you!